why are my dats scared?

89hatcher;832109; said:

Hi I'm new to this forum. I had my dats for a while now and its about 1.5 inches and they seem to hide all the time like behind the heater or under the drift wood. Also, when i turn on the aquarium light on the just won't come out but when it's off they start swimming around and when i move closer to the tank they just run and hide. Thanks in advance everyone for your help.

Click to expand...

I have exactly the same situation with four imported Indo's....they eat, swim, etc, as long as they're alone and in dim lighting...they pale and hide and act berserk when i show up or turn on their tank light..i will not stress.... what will be, will be..main thing they're eating...

I've got some experience with this. I picked up 3 little indos a while ago and put them in my 120g tank, which some would say isn't a good idea because they might have trouble finding food. However, all showed great color and personality, even coming to the front glass to beg for food. After I added some larger fish, I moved them to a 20g on my desk to grow out a bit more. Guess what? I never see them because they always hide under my driftwood. I think it might have to do with competition. In the 120 they were with lots of smaller fish, like young clown loaches, always out and about. In the 20g they are alone.

I'm going to try adding some small fish with them in the 20 to maybe make them more comfortable. I'm sure it woudn't hurt for you to try the same.

Sounds like I'm not alone. Just got two 4" thin bars last week and they hide all day behind the drift wood and even under my 6" CK. Really weird. Hopefully they will get comfortable with their new home and start swimming around.

I'll add some small loaches..like that advice,,

small dats are always scared and shy at first. give them some time and they will get to know you and be more active. as for thin bars... mine are always scared and they are bigger than my indos. i rarely see them out of hiding.

I didn't know that about thin bars. Have other people found that thin bars hide more than other dats?

ditm10;833498; said:

I didn't know that about thin bars. Have other people found that thin bars hide more than other dats?

Click to expand...

I think that's the general consensus.

I've only had thin bars up till a couple of days ago....they are shy, es..thank God Indo's will be more forthcoming...