# Labs swimming sides of tank



## lizrndiver

Ok so i've had my fish for only 2 days, but everyone seems to have settled in except my yellow labs. They spend all their time swimming up and down the glass on the left side of the tank near the filter intake. Is this weird or normal? How can I help them settle down? Tank is 90g 48 x 18 x 14 with prefect water readings. Fish are:

6 -Labidochromis caeruleus 
5- Pseutrotropheus acei 
5- Metriaclima callainos 
3- Iodotropheus sprengerae 
3- Botia Almorhae 
1- Syndonitis Ocellifer

all 1- 1 1/2" long. I have lots of lace rock for hiding.

Thanks.... :-?

Liz


----------



## DJRansome

Normal for labs...mine do it even when I move them to a different tank. As long as there are plenty of hiding places, they will eventually settle down.


----------



## zazz

not just labs but all sorts of fish seem do it in new tanks....i thought it was something to do with them chasing their own reflecton ,,and yes it goes away after a while thank goodness.


----------



## klumsyninja

You know I always thought this was fish just learning and examining their physical boundaries.
Like a dog would walk and check out the fence line etc..

I'm sure I'd do the same if you plopped me into a big contained habitat...

Then I'd find a nice pile of rocks and defend it to the death!!


----------



## Number6

I call it pacing, and IME it is a sign of unhappiness in the fish... something is not right about the tank and it wants out!

Yes, it can happen to a new addition and after a while of having it's flight response frustrated by glass it may stop... or it might never and end after a while with the fish huddled at the top of the water behind the heater.

My reccommendation to anyone with a pacing fish is to watch carefully for signs of aggression and be prepared to rescue new fish. Also consider re-arranging some rockwork and of course, check water parameters to ensure the tank is clean.

If the water is clean, there's plenty of rockwork, and the fish can get plenty to eat, then it was likely just the presence of the dominant male "boss" of the tank that spooked it, different water parameters that the fish needs to adjust to, or something along those lines. In that case, the fish will settle in as it figures out where it can fit into the existing population's hierarchy and will stop as the earlier replies mention.

Hope that all helps! :thumb:


----------



## zazz

they dont seem to do it when in a buckett....maybe they are trying to escape to the other virtual reflected tank to see if things are better over there... and they might eventually give up when they know its futile to try anymore.


----------



## Number6

zazz said:


> they dont seem to do it when in a buckett....


 no, they leap vertically straight out the top! :lol:


----------



## zazz

exactly..into the real world.


----------



## rwolff

ok, does it really reflect if u see the side of the glas from within the water? and not from outside corner where the water does create reflection?

cuz i never see fish swim against each other when there is no glass, so i always thought that from within it does not reflect, its only that they perceive they can keep going cuz of the dimension outside the tank


----------



## lizrndiver

Thanks for all the replies. So I decided to experiment and I draped a towel down from the hood over the left side of the tank to eliminate the "empty space" beyond the tank. The Labs stopped immediately and began swimming around the rest of the tank with the other fish. I left the towel up for 1/2 hour and then took it down to see if they would start up again. They have not!!! They are in and out of the caves and behaving as expected. So I guess what ever it was they were up to, the towel broke the cycle.

Now if I could only get my catfish to show more than the tip of his snout :wink:

Liz


----------

