Plec changing colour

Hello everyone! This isto use my first post on your forum, i have chosen to use yours as it seems to be quite friendly. my question is, i have two plecs in my tank, both of them were black, but the one that doesn't hide much is now getting much lighter, should i be worried?

WELCOME!!! about how big and old are they? is it eatting good?

They are quite young as i have only had them for four weeks, they are about 2 inches long. they are quite shy so I dont put their food in until night time, so i haven't really seen them eating

it could be that there just growing or do they look like there getting sick?

they look healthy to me, don't seem stressed or anything. The one that spends most of his time hiding in his pipe is still dark, i was wondering if he is changing colour as a response to the light in the tank?

hmm i dont really know it might, some of the other members could help once they come on i dont know much about plecs besides them getting huge and me having one right at the moment but hes always out in the open....im only 14 well technicly 15 considering my b-day is in 6 days (HOLY CRAP I JUST RELIEZED THAT!!!!) and ive only been interested in fish (but have always had a least one fish my entire life) since like 2-3 years ago.

what got me interested in fish was guppys and bettas and wanting to breed them and it grew from there

First off... WELCOME to the forum!

Do you know what kind of plecos you have?

I have 2 Sailfin plecos... That... for lack of better words... Molt? But they don't loose their skin. They change. They get light spots in large areas over their body.

The tanks are very healthy. I freaked the first time I saw it happen, but it's been going on for almost a year now...

Maybe someone else can answer this question better, that's just my experience so far...

Plecos are also nocturnal and do most of their eating at night. In addition, they like to chew on and swallow driftwood.

Oh yeah!

I forgot about the driftwood thing... I have Cholla wood in my tanks, and you don't realize that they're eating it, but after a while it starts looking thinner... and after a while there's GIANT holes where the little holes used to be...

It's great for them. Also some blanched veggies are always a great idea... Zuchinni, Sweet Potato, Cucumber are some of my favorites.

Cholla (pronounced choy-a) cactus grows all over the Arizona deserts, but I never knew it was Ok for aquarium use. Once you get away from the miles and miles urban areas near Phoenix, you can pick up dried cholla branches. Of course it's against the law to remove some plants and rocks from the desert, so I'll check before gathering.

It's actually kinda expensive to buy... but I found some at Wal-Mart believe it or not in the craft section.

I sunk it in a bucket for a couple days, and the water didn't change at all... So I tried it in a tank... It's a favorite...

Not sure which forum I read that it was great for plecos, it was one of them... LOL!

I saw the both the plecs today (they've got loads of places to hide!) and they are both geting new markings. They dont look strange they just look like stripy rather than black when i got them. perhaps they are developing the markings as they are getting older. Thanks for all the advice, have been feeding them cucumber and I will def get some wood in there for them!

Sometimes, the stress of being put into a new environment will cause a fish's color to fade. It usually goes back to normal after they acclimate.