Just before going to bed last night, I went to turn off the aquarium light and noticed the plecostamus acting weird, sucking feverishly on something. I realized he was sucking the guts out of the guppy, which he had somehow corralled and caught. This was a bummer because it was the longest-lasting guppy I had ever had (~six months). I thought the scene would make good source video for something, but by the time I got a tape into the camera he had abandoned his prey. I waited a while and he came back to it, but backed off every time I moved the camera close. Usually, pleco is dumb as a doornail. I never thought he had any awareness of my presence at all. But suddenly he seemed hyper-aware of my every move. I think that doting on actual prey rather than the usual algae tablets triggered some million-year-old self-defense instinct. For 20 minutes I tried to tape him sucking on the guppy’s belly, but couldn’t get a single good shot.
Tilting at windmills for a better tomorrow.