goldnugget

i have a goldnugget plec which i moved into my bigger tank he seems to have settled well when i see him that is. he is stuck behind an ornament with the clowns and i see him come out for food but if he sees you moving by the tank he's off a couple of days ago he came out and i noticed he had a patch on his side its not a wound it looks like the brown has faded. my big common goes patchy now and then but this is the first time i noticed it on the goldnugget is this anything to worry about

Keep an eye on him but hopefully not. My GN changes colour, most plecs can so unless they change dramatically I tend not to worry.

Can you see his belly? Is it rounded and full looking or is he skinny? If he is skinny he may be not competing too well for food.

Also look at his eyes, they should sort of stand out. If they look sunken at all then he is probably off colour.

How long have you had him and how long has he been in the bigger tank? They are hard to acclimatise and very shy, mine comes out now and is almost 'tame' but it's taken about 8 months.

Do most fish change colour sometimes. I have heard that fish like mollies can change colour, and others like the neons can go quite dukll at night, and now this about the plecs. Is it quite a common thing?

It is quite common - like people I guess, going red when embarrassed or hot, pale when sick - just fish can do it to blend in with their surroundings too.

Plecs are not predatory so they change colour to be less obvious to predators. My Gibby can go from a rich deep brown to sand coloured patches.

Sorry if I have missed them but are there pictures on the forum anywhere of the different types of plecs and catfish?

Hi Webby. If you look under the Your Pictures section in the Plec Forum, you'll find some photos of the plecs and other bottomdwellers that TFF members currently have.

It would be great to have a bit like there is in the cichlids section - you know a pic of a plec (Ooooh, a bit of a rhymmey thing there :lol: ), and then details about it.

Sorry, I know that means someone doing a bit of work, I would help if I could but I dont know about them. Hope you dont think I am being critical because I love it on here

No need to apologise charley, we welcome any suggestions for how things can be improved.

I'm glad you like it on here anyway :lol:

yes he is eating well and has a nice round belly you should see him attack a cockle i had him in november and moved him a few weeks back i had a peppermint plec first but it died within 3 days so i took it back with some water for them to test he also had a sunken belly they told me to pick another and i ended up with the nugget what i have noticed with the nugget is that he does not like you moving by the tank when he is out if he see's you thats it he is off