Pleco Question

[orandawhisperer]

We got two 3" plecos as suggested and put them in our pond and... 24 hrs. later we cannot find them. Is it normal for small ones to hide even at night? Should we be worried or will they appear soon? Can we expect to see them out at any time?

Thanks

 

[fishin4cars]

Probably not. like I said mine is close to 22" I've seen it maybe three times all year. easiest to see them at night, but still not easy to spot in a pond, but you should be able to see where they have been after a while. Btw, i think I recommended a little larger than 3" but that's fine, they will grow pretty quick at that size.

 

[orandawhisperer]

Thanks a lot. That gives us all more peace of mind about them. They were the biggest we could get.

 

[fishin4cars]

Kind of figured it might have been, 3" is pretty small so your going to have to watch close to spot them. You'll probably find them hanging around where it stays darkest most of the day. that's where they are most likely to make there home territory. I have a piece of 6" drain pipe under my bridge, it's pretty much home for mine. Once in a while I'll see him cruising at night but like I said, VERY rarely do I ever see him,

 

[orandawhisperer]

Yeah. We have a 12" pipe for our fish to hide in. That is probably a place they will be.

 

[Koi.Commets.Happy]

Orandawhisperer we also have two plecos in our pond that started at about three inches. I didnt see them for a month or two then one night I saw both. They had easily grown three inches. We over winter our plecs inside because our pond gets a little to cold for them. When ours were small they lived in the bottom drain. The easiest way to spot them is to shine a flashlight into your pond at night and look for the reflection from their eyes like that of a cat.