Timid fish

[ejg]

Hi ..

I have a trio of Protomelas Spilonotus "Tanzania" in a standard 6ft tank and I have had them for about 2 months. The problem is that any time I go near the tank they duck of and hide(unless I'm feeding them).They are breeding and looking healthy.

I'm just wondering if there is something I can do to make them less timid and more interactive.The water temp. is 25 degrees celsius.

The only other fish in the tank are 2 Bristlenose and 2 Synodontis Njassae.

Any suggestions muchly appreciated

[Ged]

The best advice would be to add more fish. They will feel less threatened by being out in the open if they have more fish in with them. I had the same problem with my C. afra but that quickly changed when I increased the number of fish in their tank.

I would gradually increase the stocking rate so that you don't overload the system.

[CThompson]

Add more appropriate fish, as Ged has mentioned. Fish "headology" is that if the spilonotus do not see other fish out and about, they feel there must be danger as no one else is out, so they hide too. Feeding time they overcome their fear (it's eat or die), then go back to hiding. Find some fish you feel will be compatible, and once you've reached the critical stocking numbers that make the fish ALL feel safe, you should be right.

Protomelas Spilonotus "Tanzania" can be aggresive if you chose the wrong fish , perhaps some Yellows might make some good dither fish?

Craig

[Ant]

Other causes could be:

* direct sunlight

* your tank being in a place where you/people walk past it all the time (or where they can't see you coming)

* your fish get too much light of a night time (i.e. no sleep)

* water quality issue (ammonia, nitrates, ph, hardness)

Anthony

[ejg]

Thanks for the input guys .... I will try putting in more fish and testing the water properties.

What would an appropiate set of water conditions be for malawi cichlids ? (ph range and hardness etc...)

PS my male isn't eating as much as usually does and looks like he is trying to cough something up, after he does eat. Could this indicate some adverse water conditon in particular?

Cheers EJG

[Ant]

Your ph should be around 7.8-8.0, however don't just simply raise your ph using PH up because you may have nothing to buffer the ph and you ph will drop. You may need to mix some crushed coral, crushed marble or shell grit into your substrate or place it in a medium bag and put in your filters. Alternatively you can buy Sachem Malawi buffer to do this for you, but this is a more expensive option. Raise the ph slowly (if you need to raise it that is). Apologies if you already knew this information.

Anthony

[BlackDog]

Funny this

I had fish in the lounge room and were quite active always out swiming and always saw people never a problem i got rid of that tank and put them in one in the shed until i move house (real soon i hope) so now they only see me for feeding time once a day and boy have they got timid all run (lol) swim and hide when i enter the shed. doesn't bother me at all cause i know once they are in the new house we brought they will come good over time.

I have also found adding new fish can help the older fish calm down a bit but as for the new ones it takes a few months for them to settel in their new homes also

[Ant]

Yes I had a tank that no matter what fish I put in there they would appear timid. It was likely to do with where it was placed in relation to a window or something.

Anthony