gsg623

I have a young pleco in my community tank.The other day I turnd on the light and noticed he/she was on the bottom and very pale(for a pleco I thought it was dead)after a min or 2 he/she was at the normal colors. are the like "mood rings"??

I've moved your thread to the catfish/pleco section of the freshwater fish forum. It may help you to get more responses and help others with the same questions in the future. Thanks! Ken

aquarist48

Hello gsg. It's been my experience with the Pleco that I have that it will change color from time to time. Plecos are nocturnal and can relax a bit when the lights go off. They can change colors or fade depending on the mood. As long as he's moving around, eating, swimming and having regular bowel movements I wouldn't worry too much.
I call them "mood swings" too, I'm sure you'll get some more responses.

Ken

Shawnie

Yes its very normal as ken said with the lights on or off they can change...its a way our fish change moods

Time

Most of my fish do get very pale at night. Not sure about a pleco. MY black neon tetra looses all of its black so I am sure something like that doesn't happen with your pleco so I am sure it is fine. I think aquarist48 deserves beyond rep points.

heather84

my common pleco gets almost white when we clean the tank or when i turn a light on at night

should only take a minute or 2 to get its color back usually

gremlin

My two sailfin plecos change color depending on what their background is. when they were inside in the tank over the winter, they were the "normal" coloring, showing their spots & stripes with a little bit of variation between night and day, lights on or off, moving things around and such. Now that they are out in the pond (black liner), they are almost a solid black. I think they may change somewhat to blend in - the way chameleons do.

Time

Maybe. I changed my water today and all my fish except my blue ram and betta changed color and maybe my guppy.

bolivianbaby

I don't know about plecos, I've never seen ours change colors, but I know that bolivian rams do. We have two in separate tanks. The one with the bright substrate is very light in color (he looks like a normal bolivian). The one with the black substrate is virtually black, but his finnage shows normal bolivian coloration.

Also, convict cichlids and jack dempseys change color according to their surroundings.

Hope this helps!

enthusiast

all fish will go pale its a sign of stress

when they get frightened, drastic water parimeter changes, turning on the lights. They're nocturnal and going from complete darkness to lights on full blast startles your pleco, making it turn white

Time

Going from complete darkness to light is irritating to me too. I think to everyone. They must get completely blinded for a few second in the tank since the light is so close.

Aldric

My BN also change colour they get a pattern on their back that looks almost like a skull. they tend to get it when they are stressed from water changes or when they get excited

Neji

So plecos are kind of like Octopuses?