Shy gold nugget. I want to see him more.

J

Jeff23

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Dec 11, 2004
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I have a 29gal tank with a king tiger pleco and a gold nugget pleco and a tetra. I have a large rock cave that I built with rainbow slate. It has one big cave with 2 other smaller hiding spaces. I also have a large piece of driftwood that is attached to a concrete slab. It's about as tall as the tank and has three pretty big holes for the fish to hide in.

The king tiger always hangs out in one of the holes in the driftwood. And the Gold nugget always hides upside down in the rock cave. I never see them come out of their hiding places. I feed them at night before I go to bed, and they also eat a lot of algea growing on the driftwood because you can see where they have cleaned it off.

I would like to see the gold nugget more often he rides really well and you really have to look to find him sometimes.

Is there anyway to make them more comfortable so that they come out. I thought I had enough hiding places, I tried dimming the lights, feeding them during the day etc. Nothing seems to make them feel like coming out. Also if you even make any motion near the tank they try to tuck themselves as far into their hiding places as possible.

I have had them in the tank together for about a year and a half.
 
How about a moonlight? You could watch him when he comes out at night....

Mine does not have any great hiding places except behind a row of plants, which I can look behind when I want to see him and the Queen Arabesque. Ocassionally I will find him stuck to the fron of the glass. I guess it depends on the fish. You could try exposing the underside of the rock so that it is visible from the front of the tank.
 
A moon light is a great idea! I was going to suggest a red light - I've read that fish don't see red light well, so they're not disturbed by it and you can watch them behaving naturally as though you weren't there. Sounds a bit like tinted windows!
 
You could try slowly moving feeding time up till your feeding them in the middle of the day. My Nugget and my Gibby always eat during the day, but the rest of my plecs don't come out till night time. My royal will occasionally make a few romps during evening.

It could also be caused by a "dithering" effect. The absence of top water fish makes bottom dwellers wary of predators. If your plecos don't see any fish feeding up high, it makes them assume theres a predator about scaring away the other fish. I think this is a problem in my tank, as my clown loaches are very skittish as I only have 2 zebra danios for top water fish.
 
Hey......part of your problem is that you feed them at night......cut that out. I used to do the same thing. I once read a post on here stating what to do if you want to see your plecos more......first Dont feed the plecos for 5-7 days. ( This will force them to come out and look for food...conditioning them to roam around with the lights on. Then only feed them while the lights are on. I usually feed about 4 hours befroe the lights go out. Eventually they will get hungry enough that they will have to come out to find food. Dont worry they wont starve to death, survival instincts will not let this happen ....this worked for me. I now have a King Tiger, Lemon Spotted, baby Common, and baby Queen Arabesque....and they all come out. DONT FEED THEM AFTER, OR CLOSE TO, LIGHTS OUT> :dance
 
Archangel, I was wondering about the dithering effect. I have heard of that before on here. Where adding some other fish actually make the plecos more comfortable.

I had 3 neon tetras and a 2 black tetras but all of them died (except for one black tetra).

Are there any other small non-aggressive fish that I could put in with the plecos to add some action to the tank, and maybe to get the plecos to come out.


I tried a red-light tube cover. It's a plastic tube that goes over the light. It didn't seem to help much. What is a moon light??? That sounds interesting.

I would like to feed my fish mid day but my work schedule doesn't allow it. I feed them at 11:00a.m. before I go to work and they don't come out before I leave for work. Then I feed them around 9:30-10:00p.m. when I come home and I don't see them before I go to bed at 2:00a.m. But when I get up the food is gone. So they must wait until there is no movement in the room before feeding.

I'd like to add some other fish so that will be my first choice. I just need some good suggestions.
 
I really don't know much about the dithering affect. I only have 2 zebra danios in my 90 gallon, and my Nugget is still one of my most active fish. I have a desk next to my tank, so I get to watch them alot. They get used to me. Alot of times I seek them, alot of times I don't, but all are skittish. If I get up and move around alot they usually get to where there bodies are hidden but they can keep on eye on me.

As to what to add, you could try finding Cardinal Tetras. Look just like neons, but the red strip goes all the way down the body. Hardier, but a tad pricier. Maybe zebra danios. Cheap, and entertaining. Or White Cloud Mountain Minnows - probably my fave Tetra-shaped fish. Most people will tell you they are a cold-water fish, but I've always kept some in my tropical tanks. Never seems to faze them. But, my experience is w/ bottom feeders, as I have a total of 4 non-bottom feeders between my 2 tanks.
 
I agree with saltydog. Try feeding during the day. Every pleco I've had were shy at first. Eventually, they will come out to feed.
 
Also by starving them a little by not feeding for a few days....they are forced to go out in search for food; thats where they will explore and get to know the environment better...and understand that they wont be hurt if they come out during "daylight".

I now have a king tiger, Baby Queen Arabesque, Baby common, and Lemon Spotted plecos. Did this will all of them....and they all come out. The Lemon spotted and the common being the most active. MY FAVORITE THING IS WHEN THE COMMON SWIMS AROUND LIKE HE'S A REGULAR FISH> I love that. :bowing:
 
I love to see plecos swim around like regular fish. I have only seen it happen a couple times and it was always a common.

Do the less common plecos do that as well?
 
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