Plecos hide. it is what they do. Depending on the diet of a pleco, it can influence how often you might see them out and about to some extent. The Aufwuchs feeders and the algae and wood eaters tend to be out chewing on stuff more often than the meat eaters. However, many plecos tend to be more nocturnal. Where they live they are on the menu and this means they are wired to hide at the slightest hint of danger. Those which pause for an instant to identify the cause of some movement may get the answer in the stomach of something.
Males claim caves but females do not. They may shelter in caves, but they do not claim them. They do like tight spaces. Often if a fishkeeper does not supply a cave type hiding place, a pleco will do it's own aquascaping to create a space it can use.
