# Hiding!!!



## cindylou (Oct 22, 2008)

My 55g has 8 fish that I never see all they do is hide, They sneak out too eat LOL...I was going to remove caves and give them less places to go...Anyone else have this problem?
It's hard to enjoy looking at an empty tank.. :lol: :fish: :fish: :fish: 
Good idea or bad too give them less places to hide?


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## HDrydr (Mar 22, 2010)

I give lots of hiding places it tends to decrease any aggression that may/will happen as they grow... I also change the tank around every water change to halt any territorial behaviors... I say don't remove


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Removing their cover will only cause them stress. How long have you had the tank set up? Are they juvenile fish?
Maybe you could try lowering the light level on the tank.
I would ditch that "bumblebee"--they are way too aggressive for a community tank and might be part of the reason for your other fish hiding. It may be cute now, but... :wink: 
You could consider "dither" fish, but it might be just as effective to add a few more cichlids.


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## 748johnd (Jun 30, 2007)

Cindylou, I had the same problem with the labs and acei I had in my 90g. When they were young they were always out, but as they grew older they started hiding more and more. I tried removing some rock work, but that only made them more skittish and then I changed lights to make the tank less bright and that did not help. The only time I could really see them was if I stood at least 10 feet away or fed them. I finally gave up and traded all of them in except for one lab who managed to spend about 3 or 4 months in my Eheim filter. He is now in the tank with 3 goldfish who are overwintering from my pond. The tank is now a planted tank and I plan to go with either tetras or barbs so I can at least see the fish. I really liked the African cichlids, but if you can't see them why bother. I couldn't add more fish either because the tank was already overstocked with the labs and acei. They bred like rabbits.


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## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

748johnd: interesting you say that about labs and aceis specifically. I have those 2 species in my 55g tank, still young, but growing more skittish as you describe. First thing they do is run and hide now if I approach the tank, unless they realize I'm feeding them. I can watch them out and about from any couch in the room though.I figured it was because there aren't enough total fish in the tank for them to feel comfortable, and I'm hoping the skittishness goes away when I throw them and groups of 3 more species into a 125g tank.

To the OP, that would be my idea - not enough fish for them to feel comfortable.


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## Markito (Feb 26, 2010)

i had the same problem when i first got all my fishes they were out and about. then all of a sudden they hid. maybe for about 2 weeks. i would walk slowly towads the tank. when they start to dart and hide id stop walking then approaching the tank slowly... basically letting them know im no harm to them. id also sit infront of the tank and feed em tiny amounts so they can put together people = food. give them some time, i also threw in a few more cichlids cause they dont know what they need to hide from so if the new fishes were out then the old fishes would think "hey if theyre not scared why are we"... good luck.. be patient. they will come out again :thumb:


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## cindylou (Oct 22, 2008)

This tank is almost 2 yrs. old and it keeps getting worse..My bumblebee is just as scared as the rest..I did get rid of my auratus a few months ago he was getting very aggressive..Even after he was gone they all kept hiding..I think it is the nature of mbunas..My haps and peacocks don't act that way..I did remove a few hiding spots earlier today.I will keep you all posted on what is going on..
Keep all your comments coming, maybe someone out there in cichlid (mbuna land) figured it out... :fish: :fish: :fish:


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

I'm curious too. It would be nice to see what your tank looks like. The more cover they have, the safer they will feel because they know it is close by, so what was your cover like before?

So all these fish are adults? What is the ratio of males to females in your Labidochromis "Hongi" and Labidochromis fuelleborni? In general they are usually kept as either single males or a male with several females, reason being that males will be aggressive toward each other and with only only one female she will receive too much attention from the male. Because these two species are in the same genus, and are both mouthbrooders, they could mistake each others' females for their own species too (with attendant risk of hybridization).


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## Markito (Feb 26, 2010)

how long have your fish been hiding? all of the 2 yrs? i stopped feeding mine too for a week. figured if they get hungry enough they will be out looking to food... i did everything i could think of. and now when i turn the corner from upstairs they all swim to the side of the tank downstairs... like i mentioned before. give it sometime.. if its been a while.. get rid of some fishes and get new ones.
you can also use dither fishes. which is a type of school fishes. they never hide n swim freely without a care in the world. if your fishes notice that they arent scared why should they... 
im not sure if the m/f ratio matters much to them hiding. i know for sure i have over half the fish in my tank are males. i could be wrong. good luck and keep us posted opcorn:


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## cindylou (Oct 22, 2008)

Maybe a little more activity this morning since I removed some caves..They still have plenty of hiding spots..I have no way to send pics at this time..And the answer is yes these fish in this tank have been darting and hiding for 2 yrs. :zz:


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## Markito (Feb 26, 2010)

Add more fishes to the tank at the same time! If they all hide then I'd say try to return em or switch em out with a fresh batch. Sorry to hear your fishes have been hiding for so long. I know I got frustrated with mine.


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## DAV4 (Jan 9, 2010)

I vote for not enough fish in the tank. I'm new to African cichlids, but I seem to recall other threads concerning hiding fish, and the common denominator in many of them (other then aggression or illness) was a relative low number of fish in the tank. I suspect cichlids are like other fish species and are more comfortable with a certain number of tank mates.

Dave


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## JSwan (Nov 9, 2009)

DAV4 said:


> I vote for not enough fish in the tank. I'm new to African cichlids, but I seem to recall other threads concerning hiding fish, and the common denominator in many of them (other then aggression or illness) was a relative low number of fish in the tank. I suspect cichlids are like other fish species and are more comfortable with a certain number of tank mates.
> 
> Dave


I agree I think you have too few fish. I would trade all your stock off and start with some nice groups of dwarf Mbuna ie 6-8 of each kind. I have seen this before in tanks with just a few adults. Mbuna are normally found in large groups in lake Malawi so when it is just a few of them they can be very skittish. 
There are other factors here like do you have a backround as lack of one can make fish shy. Is there a lot of back lighting from behind you so that you cast a shadow on the tank? Fish are scared by shadows cast over there tank. I have a tank in my library that gets a lot of sun during the morning/day and the fish are always a bit skittish during this time however they are mostly out. I would not remove decor as lack of proper hiding spots can make them nervous.
Overall I think your main problem is numbers. Like I said trade your fish and start over with maybe 3 groups of differnt Mbuna ie: A dwarf C.Afra like Cobue, P. Saulosi, and maybe some yellow labs(untill they get too big). Get at least 6 of each of these and then trade off extra or problem males untill you have nice groups with good ratios :thumb:


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## cindylou (Oct 22, 2008)

I can't just get rid of fish, they are part of the family now :lol: ..And I don't have anyone to give them too..


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## JSwan (Nov 9, 2009)

Wouldn't you rather have happy family members than scared skittish ones. I know Ohio is a hotbed of cichlid activety I am sure someone would trade you. What kind of Syno cat do you have? These are typicaly social creatures as well(some exceptions). If you are dead set on keeping the fish you have you canat least give them some friends maybe a few more Yellow Labs? If you had at least 3 or so of them they may be out enough to make your other fish feel secure enough to come out :wink: What about the backround do you have one? How about posting a pic  ?


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## leftfish (Apr 27, 2010)

I vote for dither fish or more cichlids. I had 6 Tanganyikans to start and they were never seen. A few Bala Sharks brought them out more and then a few Yellow Labs who love to swim back and forth. Within a day all the Tangys came out and are now right in front bobbing up and down with the labs and sharks waiting for food every day.

Dan


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## cindylou (Oct 22, 2008)

I plan on adding more fish...I don't have a camera right now so I can't send pics and the type of syno cats that I have are eupterus..They are great..They are like big clowns..My background in the tank is black and my gravel is black with some colors in it and I hate it...I am in the thinking stage right now to change the whole decor of the tank...It was my first tank and I hate the way I set it up..


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## EGYPTIANovic (Apr 2, 2010)

so do you think but having more fish of the same kind make them feel more comfortable coming out? i took all the auratus out but not much effective but atleast they are not being chased around anymore.
how many would you have for a 75 gallon?

and does a pleco scare them?


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Hi Egypt,
to best help you, it might be good to start a new topic and tell us what you have in your tank (species, numbers, sex ratios).


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