Lighting for pleco tank? Help Please!!!

rcl · Post by **rcl** » 26 Feb 2004, 05:35

I am new to plecos and just got my first (a common pleco) a few days ago. He has a rock that is a nice big cave and he sure loves it in there, but I don't see him come out ever really! I have been offering algae wafers (small pieces of them) but I'm nots ure that he has even been eating them, until tonight I saw him nibble on one...

but the only reason I saw him come out is because I turned off all the lights for a long time, and then turned on the tank light and he was finally out! But even with the light from the tank light (not that strong, and blue in color) he gets so scared and hides right away. Is there special lighting I can get that lets me see him but does not scare him? Will this behavior ease up?

I'm really concerned because I've planned to get several types of plecos and I want to know if they're all going to only come out when the lights are totally off

Thanks,
Robert

Crazie.Eddie · Post by **Crazie.Eddie** » 26 Feb 2004, 07:58

They prefer low lightling. What I normally do is just turn off the lights in the tank and have the room rights on. That way, I can still see my pl*cs and they won't be bothered by the bright tank lights.

MackIntheBox · Post by **MackIntheBox** » 27 Feb 2004, 01:23

Crazie.Eddie wrote:They prefer low lightling. What I normally do is just turn off the lights in the tank and have the room rights on. That way, I can still see my pl*cs and they won't be bothered by the bright tank lights.

i do this as well, they tend tyo hang out on one side of my 55 gallon tank so i just hut off one of the lights, the one i really cant get a cord to, lol. they come out with low light but like to hide in bright light.

rcl · Post by **rcl** » 27 Feb 2004, 02:19

Well I have had my pleco for about 4 days and he's rarely out unless it is pitch dark in the room and tank both, how long should I expect until he will feel safe enough to be out of the cave often?

Also, I've read around and seen some people talking about 'MOON LIGHTS' or something, is there special low-light bulbs I can buy for my lamps?

Thanks again,
Robert

jurassic_pork · Post by **jurassic_pork** » 27 Feb 2004, 07:19

It's fairly normal for the plec to be hiding out since he is fairly new to the tank,I would'nt worry about this so much since there is normally algae for them to feed on inside the tank,As for the lighting,You could try using a red low light bulb for awhile during the day to see if that helps you see the pleco outside but really think it unnecessary as the plecs i keep do sooner or later start taming to you

MackIntheBox · Post by **MackIntheBox** » 28 Feb 2004, 00:07

jurassic_pork wrote:It's fairly normal for the plec to be hiding out since he is fairly new to the tank,I would'nt worry about this so much since there is normally algae for them to feed on inside the tank,As for the lighting,You could try using a red low light bulb for awhile during the day to see if that helps you see the pl*co outside but really think it unnecessary as the plecs i keep do sooner or later start taming to you

could also try blue, if you try both let us know which works better ;) I will be testing this myself when i get some time