Got a picture of it? I know it's not easy to get pics of pleco's sometimes, but try. A patch of color could be anything from a fungal, ich, velvet, skin parasites, to just normal mottling from stress, growth, or mood... Does it look like bread mould growing on the skin? Furry? Smooth? Absessed? I'd love to help, but I don't know enough about the problem to give usefull advise yet...