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I have a small Bushy Nose Pleco that has light colored spots on it. One near the eye, one on the back and one by the tail. It has been in my tank for about four weeks. The spots were not there when I got it. I noticed the spots about two weeks ago. Does anyone know what it is? What caused it? Should I be concerned about it? See attached.

Thanks
Lileyfud

I have an albino BN with 1 brown spot on him. This could be just the opposite. Maybe it's a recessive albino trait. I forget the name of it.

I've heard of plecos changing gold then back...don't understand the science but it apparently happens with various species of plecos. Chubby plecos do this quite often and the gold version sells for a lot...which I still can't understand since they are known to turn brown again.

Apparently it's normal and comes with the mood of the fish so nothing to worry about as they fade in and out on their own.

Busterny wrote:I have an albino BN with 1 brown spot on him. This could be just the opposite. Maybe it's a recessive albino trait. I forget the name of it.

Alright, I don't actually know how this works in plecos but I would like to explain some things with examples from the snake part of my life because it is much easier to understand (not because the genetic trait is different but because there's a lot less confusion about ID of the fish or records of where the genetics come from etc). First a base line- A normal or wild type ball python Visual patches that can clearly be identified as another gene showing up when it is not "supposed" to or that contradicts a gene (for instance a patch of black (melanin) on an albino which is defined as a lack of or greatly reduced melanin. Examples of this (in the snake industry anyway) are called a paradox and the degree can vary significantly with some animals having a small patch of scales and others. Skittles the Ball python pictured is 1 in a million snake and a rather extreme example of a paradox animal however she shows just what craziness paradox genetics are capable of. This can often be confused with Calico however although this gene does result in a mix of two colours that are quite noticeably different from one another (varying shades of brown/gold with with white coming through). as far as I know this gene has no relation to a paradox. There are others out there as well but I think is sufficient to explain the phenomena. Also I agree with Annabellman, I believe the patches come and go with the fishes mood (and the time of day, fish tend to become pale, blotchy and have reduced pattern and colours at night).