Have you noticed your pleco hiding a lot?
It’s a common thing for plecos to do.
Fortunately, it’s not much cause for concern.
Plecos are a nocturnal fish, which means they are only active at night. Plecos like to hide under structure or in a cave to rest during the day. If you look at your pleco during the nighttime, then you will most likely see it being quite active.
Plecos are Nocturnal
Catfish are a nocturnal – they have more in common with cats than just the whiskers. They do most of their activities at night and prefer to find some structure to hide in during the day.
I strongly recommend looking at your fish tank after you have turned off the lights for the night. You will likely see your pleco swimming all around the tank and suctioning itself to the side of the tank.
It’s also important to note that plecos can be rather shy when first introduced to a tank. They might even stay in their cave or under structure at night for the first few days in a new tank.
You have structure in your pleco tank, right?
If you don’t have structure, then you should. All types of catfish prefer some structure as they will hide it in during the day. This also means you can introduce shrimp to your pleco tank.
Don’t worry, they will quickly get over their fear of coming out of hiding within a week.
This is especially true if you drop some bloodworms or zucchini in the tank. Plecos really like bloodworms and zucchini.
Conclusion
That sums it up for why your pleco is always hiding. It’s nothing to be concerned about if the pleco is hiding during the day.
It’s actually more concerning if the pleco is not in hiding during the daytime as it often indicates the fish may be sick.
I strongly recommend looking at your fish tank about an hour after you turn off the tank lights. You will very likely see your pleco swimming around the tank. If you don’t, then add some zucchini to the tank.
You can even leave the zucchini in the tank overnight. I almost guarantee you the zucchini will be missing when you check the tank in the morning.