Extremely shy Clown Pleco?

HI there, I have a Clown Pleco in with some tiger barbs and tetras in my 38g tank. It has a medium to highish flow and has plenty of covered areas.

I've noticed he's insanely shy. I know plecos aren't exactly the most active fish but I very rarely see him outside of his pitch-black cave.
There's plenty of driftwood in the tank and none of the other fish even acknowledge his existence when he's outside.

I'm asking if it's normal for him to be hiding so much mostly because I haven't seen him on the glass in 3+ months and am concerned he could be going hungry. I've found no proof of him eating the algae on the glass but there are some 'stripped' areas of driftwood, so presumably, he does eat.

Should he be alright? Is this normal?

 

Of the 3 smallerish size plecos the clown bristlenose and rubberlips by far the clowns are extremely shy and hide all the time. I've had one for well over a year and the only time I see him is when I look on the back glass of my 20 long behind the dual sponge filter. I have a baby Albino BN in my 29 that's about 3-4 months old and he is constantly out eating his veggies and in my 55 I have a common and a rubberlip that as we speak are munching on some chunks of zucchini.

 

Clown plecos are a particularly shy pleco. Its common for people to not see them for long periods of time. My bristlenose is the same, never really see it out. But your pleco can't just eat algae on the glass. Feed it its own dedicated foods too. I feed algae wafers, hikarI sinking wafers, veggies, bloodworms and so on.

 

Clown plecos are a particularly shy pleco. Its common for people to not see them for long periods of time. My bristlenose is the same, never really see it out. But your pleco can't just eat algae on the glass. Feed it its own dedicated foods too. I feed algae wafers, hikarI sinking wafers, veggies, bloodworms and so on.

Good to hear them being shy is normal. I do feed him other foods too

 

I have two Clowns and they tend to stick to their designated territory, if that makes sense. A cave for one and a big wooden hideaway for the other lol

 

I've had a clown pleco that is over ten years old now and he is still a shy bugger. I don't think it ever changes. He will occassionally venture forth from his favored shadowed crook in the driftwood to go for food on the bottom and at night if the lights are out in that room I can move in slowly and see him grazing along the glass of the tank. But any movement close to the tank or a light turns on? Nope, back to his hide in the driftwood.

By contrast, my bristlenose (in other tanks) are always out and about and give no hoots about hanging out plainly visible. One of them even likes to bristle up and use his suboccular spines to defend the spirulina tab whenever I put one on the glass for the fish.

 

I have a clown pleco too. My family won’t see him for a week then usually one of the kids yell

“I see the sucker fish”

then everyone runs up to the tank to look. For a while I almost thought I’d lost HI'm after we first got him. But he keeps to his cave and comes out when it’s dark usually.