Pleco friendly tank

[b.reder]

Jobro stated in a previous post that if your tank is not Pleco friendly, you will mostly only see tails. Well that sums up my four tanks. Tails only. An occasional peek in the middle of the night shows me they are alive. All tanks have some wood - more in the wood eater's tank. Fast running water. Great airation. Few plants. Caves of varying sizes and materials. Other non-cave places to hang out. Three of the tanks have been operating for over a year. So why only tails? Thanks! -Barry

[b.reder]

Really? No help?

[bekateen]

It's still the holidays Barry. I think visits drop a bit.

To your question and Jobro's comment, I think there's truth in it, but not universal truth.

My tanks are mostly species tanks or 2-3 species community tanks (mostly plecos and corys). I've got tons of wood, rocks, caves, and always strong current.

I see mostly tails.

Fish do come out, but if I walk by, they hide.

My "habitats" might work for some species but maybe not for others. Some species may want plants. Some may want leaf litter (I have none but am starting to experiment with it). Some plecos are more shy than others.

Cheers, Eric

[PlecosAndLoaches]

Ha - ditto to what Eric said, but here's what I wrote prior to noticing he just replied:
Yours is a great question and one I suspect we all struggle with to varying degrees. IMHO, the things you mentioned are important but there's some other even more important factors that might determine whether a pleco is 'out and about' as much as we'd like. You'll see some of the Cat-e-Log profiles list a species as shy. This may be because they originate in fast-flowing waters where they need to tuck in to a tight space, or they could be accustomed to deeper, dark waters and in that sense, even the best pleco-friendly tank is a poor simulation of their natural environment. Also, just as humans have a range of personalities, so can fish. Personally, I've kept over 60 different species of plecos and the vast majority I'd call shy. Of the ones I keep right now, the only ones that are out all the time are L095, which are beautiful 'free swimmers'.

[b.reder]

Thank you both. Perhaps I have "over caved" my tanks. I will un-junk them all in the new year. Your L095 is a good looking fish. 15" is too large for my tanks. What is their diet?

[bekateen]

I don't think it's possible to "over cave" a tank.

[Koi-fantast]

My few cents..

Dither fish might help in giving plecos some security assurance. In my 200L(52 Us gal) with a big group of L397 and red scarlet endlers L397 are all over the place eating day and night. I also have some young L397 in a 600L(158 Us gal) with big L75, L47, Geophagus' steindachneri and I don't see the L397 during the day.

Enough hiding spots will help to give some security assurance. I always have tree and caves in 63L(16 Us gal) with youngsters and the youths will freely cruise around during the day eating. Without hiding spots they may be too insecure so they don't eat.

Some species are more secure than others and will cruse about checking the surrounding environment. For me my young L15 is chewing on algae all day long. They are maybe the ones I see the most during daytime.

Plecos that I have newly bought are all over the place searching for food. I got some LDA01 and they were eating during the day first week or so but now they don't come out eating during the day. They are mostly night active.

//Matti

[Jobro]

Sorry for the late and probably too short answer, I will try to come back to this when I got some more time.

Basic rule: Cover 3 of the 4 sides of the tank. Don't go bare bottom. Cover above the caves. Plants. Dampened lights. Tank needs to be big enough.

Indeed there is no universal truth. Some fish might just never really leave their caves, like my L260. I only see a few females on their way from one male and his cave to another.

But there are other species that I actually get to see every time I look into the tank. My L134 for example. I usually spot all 3 females infront of their caves or around them. They only enter when I scare them and will leave once it settles down.
You can spot a second female on the right side of the picture, that is not in a cave, either.

As you can see, I can get right next to the glass with my phone to take the pictures, they won't hide. They feel save. They know there is plenty of shelter.

Hope this provides some better overview. The tank is highly lighted, but swimming plants like Limnobium laevigatum dampen the lights and help reduce nitrates.

This is a L204 male that just happened to be ready for a photo shoot today so I thought I would add it.

[b.reder]

Great! And thank you. I'll be covering the sides and over the caves.- Barry