Pleco with no eyes? Help!!

[Maddie997]

Hi guys, I've never posted on here but I really hope you can help me.

I found a pleco today at my lfs with no eyes, its about 7 inches long. Im not sure if hes an albino or what- I'm going to try and upload a picture, but I wanted to ask if you guys thought he might be OK in my community tank.

The shop doesnt know how long he's been eyeless for, but he seemed pretty calm and like he'd learnt to find his way around. I have a 700 litre tank with silver dollars, a bichir, various catfish and two ruby sharks. Theyre all pretty small at the moment, but I also have another common pleco who is around 10 inches. Hes a very dosile, quiet fish, I've never had a problem with bullying between any of my fish, but I dont want to over stock or put the new pleco into a possibly stressful environment.

Id be so grateful for some advice, I really want to give the poor eyeless pleco a home!!

 

[Maddie997]

Photo (hopefully)

 

[duanes]

I have heard about bind plecos that live in caves in southern Brazil.
This seems like a mutation that would come in handy if a population was stranded in a lightless cave after some kind of environmental event. Under normal circumstances these pink and sightless morphs would become easy prey, and probably not last long.
But in the artificial conditions of aquariums, or in caves where there is a lack of predation a blind and albino population could easily survive.
There are blind Astyanax tetras in Mexico, blind Lamprologus cichlids in the deep waters of the Congo river, so no reason there wouldn't be blind plecos.

 

[JasonsPlecosCichlids]

My money is one a blind chocolate pleco, either born that way or picked on.

 

[Jhncf]

The problem is that your current pleco will probably fight with it. It might be docile just now but that's because you don't have another pleco in the tank, and the fact that this one is blind means yours would have the advantage in any fight and pick on this one.

 

[Maddie997]

Thanks for the replies guys.. Putting the blind one in with my current plec was my main concern really.. Since putting my post up I've spoken to a lot of people who do keep plecos together, and I reckon I have the space and enough hiding places that they'll (hopefully) live peacefully together. I know what my lfs is like, if I hadnt said I'd take it they'd of just killed it, and I couldnt let that happen