I know it probably sounds a bit silly, but I'm concerned about my male BN plec as of late. I have a male and female, along with everything else in my sig below. Anyhow, he used to be a ham and was always out and about at all times of day, interacting with the cats, and just generally foraging around. The last 4-5 days though, he has holed himself up in this root that I have and he won't come out for anything really. I've only seen him once in the last couple days since he started this. I actually took the root out today for a minute and sure enough, he was still in there - wouldn't even go out once I pulled it clear out of the water. I saw him, and he appears fine, but isn't it odd that suddenly his behavior would change so drastically and he would go from being the most social fish in the tank to being a recluse and not leaving the root?
Plec Suddenly A Recluse
- Thread starter Rynofasho
- Start date
Tizer
Team TetraTEC
Im certainly no plec expert, but i always thought this is how they behave from day to day anyway :\ Its why i've not bothered with any myself. That and they poop lots !
Have you taken water readings to see if there are any problems with it? Not sure what else to suggest! sorry
Have you taken water readings to see if there are any problems with it? Not sure what else to suggest! sorry
Randi
Fish Crazy
I am having the same problem with my BN. He has always been out and about, but has been hiding behind the filter for the past 5 days. He is not even coming out for food or going into his log which used to be his favorite spot. I have no idea what it is but someone suggested that maybe one of the other fish is picking on him. I don't think that is the case so I hope someone has another idea.
Well plecs in general like to hide for most of the day, thats how the stay safe in the wild (blend in and stay perfectly still so no predators see them). However, bristlenose plces are slightly more 'sociable' than other type of plecs. They do like coming out and interacting, especially when they are in their infant stage of development. As soon as they start to become fully grown they will start hiding slightly more.
Other factors could play a role in this, like:
Other factors could play a role in this, like:
- Other fish being aggressive towards them, they would then retreat back to a safe place.
- Water conditions, if they don't feel great they would be more likely to hide.
- Or becoming an adult. In the wild, they would guard a certain hiding place for 2 main reasons. The first so they themselves can hide but the seoncd is so they can bring up their fry. This would make sense as the male BN does guard the spawning ground, so they are more likely to hide away and guard it.
micko
drive it like you stole it.
Mine hides all the time. Only comes out when all lights are off in the tank and room lights too.
Ok better update. Water parameters are fine. Tank is like 9 months old. He traditionally has never been one to hide though which is why it is so weird to me. He may be coming of age like Duz said -- last week I did a real hard scrub of the tank. Trimmed a lot of plants, moved everything and gave it a real thorough vacuuming. When I was refilling, I thought I hit him with the vacuum as he was hiding and I didnt see him in the root (I put the end of the vac in the root to hold it in place). I saw him come out of the root only one time since then. Now he is hunkered down in there again. I think he may actually be stuck even. I touched him with my finger and he didn't try to move or escape -- I would think that even if he was just scared, he would still swim away with me touching him but he is staying right there. Im kinda baffled.
He definitely is not being bullied -- he's the biggest tough guy in the tank so I have no clue what to think. I suppose guarding fry is possible, but again, to not even move when I touch him? Seems odd.
I'm considering putting a bunch of water from the tank in a bucket and putting the root in there so I can get a better look at him. Really hard to see him inside there while it is also inside the tank. It is a fake root, and I'm scared that maybe there is a way for him to get lodged in one of the crevices in there.
He definitely is not being bullied -- he's the biggest tough guy in the tank so I have no clue what to think. I suppose guarding fry is possible, but again, to not even move when I touch him? Seems odd.
I'm considering putting a bunch of water from the tank in a bucket and putting the root in there so I can get a better look at him. Really hard to see him inside there while it is also inside the tank. It is a fake root, and I'm scared that maybe there is a way for him to get lodged in one of the crevices in there.
lilfishie
Its a kinda MAGIC!! ^_^
Since you have a female, could he be guarding eggs?
Well, I guess I will just HOPE he is guarding eggs. I dont know how he would have gotten stuck, and I took the root out earlier today and heard him move in there, so I'm guessing he isn't completely stuck.
It just seems coincidental that he started doing this right after I gave the tank a good scrubbing. If he is guarding eggs, how long will he stay in there? And can I expect to see him come out at all, even for food?
Would he be so 'dedicated' at guarding eggs that he wouldnt move, even if I touched him? I'm not overly afraid of injuring him by touching him - honestly when I clean the tank, many times he swims around / on my hand and follows me around in there, so I know he isn't dreadfully afraid of me.
It just seems coincidental that he started doing this right after I gave the tank a good scrubbing. If he is guarding eggs, how long will he stay in there? And can I expect to see him come out at all, even for food?
Would he be so 'dedicated' at guarding eggs that he wouldnt move, even if I touched him? I'm not overly afraid of injuring him by touching him - honestly when I clean the tank, many times he swims around / on my hand and follows me around in there, so I know he isn't dreadfully afraid of me.
lilfishie
Its a kinda MAGIC!! ^_^
From experience he will guard his eggs no matter what, Can you see him fanning at all?
if there is eggs then he will be in there a good 10 days in total where he will not move, not even for food
if there is eggs then he will be in there a good 10 days in total where he will not move, not even for food
Ya actually I can see his tail moving back and forth but he isnt moving. It is weird, because it doesn't even look like he should be able to get to where he is in there. That's why I thought maybe he was stuck (tail moving but him NOT moving combined with it doesnt look like there is even space there.
I reckon he is maybe guarding his spawning ground, like lilfishie said male BN plecs won't move for anything (not even food) if they are guarding their fry. Fanning is also quite a common side of him standing his ground and telling other fish to back off, this normally only occurs when the fish is guarding a spawning ground/fry and in some forms of courtship (attracting a mate). Personally, I would look at him in the night, he might come out when everything else is sleeping. That way you could see if he is in a bad condition just to make sure that it isn't anything else.
As for him guarding the fry, with a female BN in there I wouldn't be surprised. They are one of the easiest plecs to breed and fry can be quite common in some aquariums. If he still isn't moving after a few more days I would place some food just outside or maybe inside the root, just so he has the chance to eat. Cucumber with a weight attached to it would do the trick nicely, just remember to move the cucmber after a day or so as it will start to dissolve in the water (turning it a nice green colour). Hope this helps you.
Can you see any eggs at all? They may very in colour but there should be a group of them all stuck together in either small clumps or 1 large clump. Saying that, if you move the root too much he might not like you so be careful if you do move it and if you can see from the outisde that would be a lot better.
As for him guarding the fry, with a female BN in there I wouldn't be surprised. They are one of the easiest plecs to breed and fry can be quite common in some aquariums. If he still isn't moving after a few more days I would place some food just outside or maybe inside the root, just so he has the chance to eat. Cucumber with a weight attached to it would do the trick nicely, just remember to move the cucmber after a day or so as it will start to dissolve in the water (turning it a nice green colour). Hope this helps you.
Can you see any eggs at all? They may very in colour but there should be a group of them all stuck together in either small clumps or 1 large clump. Saying that, if you move the root too much he might not like you so be careful if you do move it and if you can see from the outisde that would be a lot better.
So I ran to the store and got a much brighter LED light so I can see him now. He is way down in there. He looks fine, and he can move around. I couldn't tell if there were eggs though -- was pretty dark, even with a super bright LED.
I suppose Ill just leave him be then and hope that he eventually makes his way out!
I suppose Ill just leave him be then and hope that he eventually makes his way out!
Ok well if he looks ok and is able to move I wouldn't be too worried. See how if does after a few weeks and then you may want to think about it again. Would be nice to have some fry but dunno quite what I would do with them 
I reckon he will be fine though so good luck to you and him if it is fry 
I reckon he will be fine though so good luck to you and him if it is fry Similar threads
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