Time out of Water

AusPleco

Retired Staff
Oct 1, 2011
676
1
16
Rural NSW
I was just wondering if there is a general consensus as to how long you can have your pleco out of the water for before you start causing harm. I have never taken mine out of the tank and held them for purpose of a photo or whateva but yet i am still curious in case i ever do ?
 

Lornek8

Member
Apr 21, 2009
2,001
0
36
Hawaii
I hate seeing pics of plecs out of water. Its probably one of my biggest pet peeves. Apart from stressing the plecs by catching them then holding them and removing their slime coat, the pics that result look like s**t. They're no good for sexing and id and apart from simply documenting what you've got their useless. Far better to simply place them in a specimen container and taking photos of them in there.

Plecs can stay out of water for a fairly long period though as they have the ability to gulp air absorb some oxygen. Still not worth it to me.
 

AusPleco

Retired Staff
Oct 1, 2011
676
1
16
Rural NSW
I hate seeing pics of plecs out of water. Its probably one of my biggest pet peeves. Apart from stressing the plecs by catching them then holding them and removing their slime coat, the pics that result look like s**t. They're no good for sexing and id and apart from simply documenting what you've got their useless. Far better to simply place them in a specimen container and taking photos of them in there.

Still not worth it to me.
Agreed, i stress when i move them from tanks and am putting them in a bucket lol
 

Brengun

Global Moderators
Staff member
Apr 22, 2009
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61
Burrum Heads, Queensland, Australia
If you are taking a while to do photos and its quite a few fish, have an airstone ready to pop in the bucket. Amazing how many times a phone can ring or you get visitors or a kid wants you when setting up to do pleco pics.

I especially bought a little betta fish tank for photos. Its small, you can cover the top from light and give them a few minutes and they will lose their stress colors for better photos.

Try balancing the edge of the betta tank over another tank and take vent shots from under.
Breaks your knees and back trying to focus it but is doable for just a few fish.

For a vent shot with it all hanging out and not sucked in, I handle for out of water shots but its rather a gentle lift them out in your hand (they will put out their prongs for you so you aren't damaging slime coat) and carefully hold with thumb over mouth (they seem ok with that) and index and middle finger either side of the dorsal fin. Its gentle hold, so as not to damage slime coat and they dont seem to struggle at all in that position.

Advisable to have your camera on and pre-focussed to the exact distance you wish to take the photo too. This is only a few seconds out of water.

For getting an erect tail fin, the held position is good as well. Paricularly if you are making sure your fish has a L333 tail and is not a L066 with a forked tail mascarading as a L333 in your tank.

As to time they 'can' spend out of water? As long as they are moist and don't dry out, hours.
I've had fry drop off wood into a tiny drop of water on the floor and found it fine an hour later, ooops.
 

Doodles

Retired Staff
Apr 8, 2009
8,786
2
36
I stress when trying to catch fish, not angry stress just kind of nervous, hate doing it which is probably why I still have some plecs in tanks that I wanted to give away ages ago :confused:

Sorry, bit off topic lol