Zebra Pleco

[stromlodge]

Hi, anyone else have a Zebra Pleco they only see about once a month? When I do see mine it appears healthy. It hides almost all of the time and can't be found, then randomly every few weeks he appears, looking good as ever. I've given up thinking he's gone missing, for several months I kept thinking something had happened and then he just appears like he's been there all the time.

A comical fish but extremely shy it would appear.

 

[WetPetMum]

Hi, anyone else have a Zebra Pleco they only see about once a month? When I do see mine it appears healthy. It hides almost all of the time and can't be found, then randomly every few weeks he appears, looking good as ever. I've given up thinking he's gone missing, for several months I kept thinking something had happened and then he just appears like he's been there all the time.

A comical fish but extremely shy it would appear.

I used to have a pleco years ago, can’t remember what it was.. he used to love hiding but when he came out he was fine.. stayed out for a week or so eating stuff at the front of the tank then would disappear to the back again

 

[Uberhoust]

I don't keep any plecos any longer, typically I see them swimming off to hide under a piece of wood or I only see them when cleaning the tank clinging to a piece of wood I am removing to clean. They are unique but I find if you give them hiding areas they use them extensively.

 

[Byron]

Hypancistrus zebra does not like to be out in the open. I had one for several years back in the 1990's, and he took up residence in a huge chunk of standing wood. I always tap lightly on the tank frame when I am ready to feed, and this fish as all fish learned what this meant, and out he would come and scamper around the sand and flat rock at the front of his "home." I didn't see much of him at other times. Providing lots of cover can sometimes allow such fish to be more "out and about," but like most of the smaller species in the loricariids this one is not particularly bold. Not surprising when one understands its habitat conditions.

Origin and Habitat: Endemic to the Rio Zingu basin, a southern tributary of the Amazon in south-eastern Brazil. The substrate is sandy with many rocks, and the water is fast flowing. This fish is found in deeper water among rock crevices.

 

[Fishmanic]

Hi, anyone else have a Zebra Pleco they only see about once a month? When I do see mine it appears healthy. It hides almost all of the time and can't be found, then randomly every few weeks he appears, looking good as ever. I've given up thinking he's gone missing, for several months I kept thinking something had happened and then he just appears like he's been there all the time.

A comical fish but extremely shy it would appear.

You could use a flashlight after tank lights turn off to see if he comes out at night. Many plecos will come out in the open after lights out.

 

[jaylach]

You could use a flashlight after tank lights turn off to see if he comes out at night. Many plecos will come out in the open after lights out.

Ya, a lot of plecos are nocturnal. One exception SEEMS to be a common Pleco but they just can't be kept unless you have a huge tank as they get really big. LOL! I have found myself hunting for my rope fish with a flashlight sometimes at night. They are also mostly nocturnal and I get worried when I don't see for a day.

I love plecos and corys but have a gravel substrate which is not normally good for either. I compromised with Panda Garras and have not looked back. Panda Garras are just beyond belief. They are friendly and active beyond anything I've ever had. They are also voracious algae eaters although they also need protein. Just REALLY cool fish that have made me not miss having neither plecos or corys.

 

[GaryE]

Sometimes, according to friends who keep them, they are more visible if the tank is extremely filtered, or runs quality powerheads. They like hiding in crevices because the water flow around them in nature would exhaust them if they fought it all the time. But fast water is high oxygen.

They do best in long tanks.

 

[anewbie]

They hide; but not as bad as clown pleco; I only see my clown pleco once every 6 or 8 months (I've had him for 4 years).

One trick i've learned is that females will spend more time out during the day and in the open; males spend most of their times in caves waiting for females. This works well for some common species like bn; zebra and clowns not so much as they are shy; but having a strong current a relatively dim light helps with zebra.

 

[Robder]

I bought a golden nugget pleco (beautiful thing) and haven't seen it since.

I guess I might have the odd six monthly greeting in that case.

Do they tend to get over the initial hiding thing when settling in or is that it now?

 

[Ichthys]

I bought a golden nugget pleco (beautiful thing) and haven't seen it since.

I guess I might have the odd six monthly greeting in that case.

Do they tend to get over the initial hiding thing when settling in or is that it now?

To some extent they’ll be out more once they’re settled, but if the conditions aren’t to their liking they won’t be out much. Gold Nuggets need very warm water (minimum 27C), a lot of oxygen (they’re from rapids), and a lot of veg-based foods. They have a very high metabolic rate and need a lot of food, and a diet that isn’t mostly veg-based will stunt their growth (they can’t digest animal protein much) and shorten their lives.

A lot of plecs are nocturnal, so hiding away all day is normal for them.

 

[Ichthys]

I love plecos and corys but have a gravel substrate which is not normally good for either.

Actually most plecs would be ‘happier’ on a gravel substrate, or rocks, especially the herbivorous ones. You don’t get as much algae growing on sand, and they don’t root about in the sand like Corys do.

Zebra plecs live among large flat rocks. They hide / sleep in the crevices between the rocks.