Fish acting scared

[RichFlorida]

When I first started my tank, the fish would swim all over, and would let you watch them up close. Now, when you walk by the tank...they all fly down towards the bottom of the tank. I have noticed they are making undergravel pits like under the coral I have in tank. They hide under there. They all look very healthy except for doing this now. Whats wrong?? Thanks :-)

[fredzebra]

How long were they letting you watch them? Maybe when the tank was new, they werent yet comfortable in their new "home". Later, they built "shelters" under the coral. I no longer keep cichlids, but i had one cichlid for about 3 years. I kept it in a very small tank so it had nowhere to hide, so it didnt mind me watching but if it was in a big enuff tank with shelters, it wouldve hid. This cichlid was smart though and it got to know me.

[Chet]

What fish do you have and in what size tank? What type of decorations are in your tank, and how bright is your light? All of these factors can affect the behavior of your fish.

[fOx]

As someone has already pointed out, once your fish find a home they are comfortable in they will retreat to that home when anything looks awry. This includes quick movements, or someone walking pass the tank. You will find that if you stand still that they will once again emerge from their crevices and caves and start swimming around again.

If you want to shorten the time they spend in their "holes" you can try dither (or target) fish. Personally, I would make sure that the target fish are also cichlids from the same lake. In my earlier days someone suggested that giant danios, or tiger barbs would make good tiger fish... but they ended up being an expensive meal for my malawis. They didn't last 10 minutes.


The idea of having target fish is, by having some fish that are less "shy", and are always swimming around in the open the other fish see that it is safe to come out and they are less likely to hide in their holes. It actually works, if you get the right fish. I find that the more aggressive species of Mbuna like to stay out and flaunt their ownership of the tank. However if you have a tank of Peacocks or haps you may be asking for trouble if you add a Kennyi or Lombardoi...

It's up to you, but I wouldn't fret the behaviour, it's normal.

fOx

[stefanos.f]

Fox gives u the best possible reassons and solutions to your problem but only by guessing :? so to be more specific with our answers we would like to know the answers to the questions Chet is asking you :D

[RichFlorida]

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the help so far. I have a 55 gallon tank. I have a large piece of coral in the iddle...thats where they dug a hiding place at under the gravel. I also have a pot, and rocks in the tank with holes.

I have bublebees, albino and red zebra, yellow lightning, and blue colbalt

[jonah]

I have bumblebees, albino and red zebra, yellow lightning, and blue colbalt

Just FYI albino, red and cobalt zebras will hybridize. I learned the hard way. What's a yellow lightning?

[fOx]

But what I wrote was no guess... :?

Looking at the species you have I will re-affirm what I wrote above. Also as anyone with cichlids knows your fish get to know you. With my fish, they will stay out when I walk by or stop to look at them, but when my wife goes by the tank they head for their hiding spots.

If she stands still for a while, they come back out again. It's just like the fish that hang out under the dock at the cottage. Peer over the ledge and they run for cover!

fOx

[stefanos.f]

Hey Fox I did nt mean it that way (that u were just guessing), I was trying to tell our friend that we were needing more infos to be sure about his problem and how to help him! What u said is 100% corect! Please excuse my bad English, I ll try to explain better next time! :D Oh and something else, RichFlorida our friend Jonah is right these fish u have will hybridize for sure if they didnt allready! :cry:

[Gir]

What's a yellow lightning?

I th ink he means electric yellow ?

[GrimReaper]

i just read about your fish being scare ....well i used to have the same problem .soo what i did was take out all but a few decorations out of the tank and left it that way for a while.. when i finally put the rest of the decorations back in the tank .the fish were scared any more..they now swim every where in the tank ...
i now have 4 yellow labs a pair of flavescent peacocks a pair of hapelectras a pair of tangerine tigers 3 hapali's 1 male 2 females 3 sp. 44 haplochromis 1 male 2 females everyone gets along with everyone except when mating ...

[Gir]

Hey I just got over a case of my fish acting scared. I came to the conclusion it was because of aggression. I had 2 male goldheads fighting, and I hadnt changed the rock configuration in over 2 weeks so all in all they were just getting too fiesty.
I removed the less dominant male and moved the rocks, now they are all happy.

[matt1066]

Hi Rich,

I have had the same issues, however I went out and bought 6 Giant Danios and that cured my Malawi's of there shyness.

I am also wondering about your water quality.
Poor H2o conditions can also contribute to their behaviour.

Water are your H2o parameters? PH, ammonia, nitrite, and Nitrate?

My tank holds a couple of serious piscavores and they dont bother the Danios. Another thought would be some Rainbow,s, however I find they get a bit large and contribute unnessasarily to the bio-load.

I see you are nearby. E-mail me if I can be of help.

Matt

[fOx]

What do you have in the tank with your Danio's? I noticed you didn't include the species. The reason I ask is (as it says above) I have tried the Danio thing and my Africans (who just over half the size of the Danios at the time) made quick work of them.

fOx

[matt1066]

Hi Fox,

The most serious is Dr.and Mrs Evil, a pair of Exochochromis anagenys
Which by the way made short work of my Ps socolofi-tail out of the mouth and all.

Matt

[matt1066]

Fox,

Oh, I also have a 125g. That could also have an affect

Matt

[UncleJim]

You could try Black Convicts. I know they are not african but they are tough and hold their own even against Pseudotropheus Zebras and Venustus.