I have a shy carnivore plec too. The only time I see him is when I feed bloodworms or brine shrimp, just glimpses along the back. Recently I tried a small salad-type shrimp held in a veggie clip & WOW! He came out in the daytime with me sitting only about 1 ft away. If I moved he'd back into a cave but come right back to the shrimp. Of course the loaches loved it too. I removed it after an hour or so. I'll be doing that again.