Hey all. I have a dilemma. I have a 50gal tank with one Lepidota, one Firemouth and one Flowerhorn. I recently had a vacation of about a month. When I left, the fish seemed fine. They looked good and ate well. They were at the time becoming increasingly shy however. I mean, when I bought the pike 4mos ago, he was constantly at the glass begging for food. It was awesome. Now he, and he and his tankmates hide all day, and act truly fearful of all things human. They were without a light for the last two weeks of my trip, but reportedly still ate/showed some interest in food. When I got back, it was a different story. I fixed the light and now they are even scared of that. The water they had been in was very hard with a pH of about 7.8. I understand thats not appropriate for these fish but It didn't seem to bother them. I have since begun importing better water, slowly changing over to the softer with a pH of about 7. It's the only thing I can think of that might be making them upset. I think they are healthy but they are just so scared of everything. I am new to the hobby, but have fast become infatuated with my fish. Has anyone ever observed this behavior? Any ideas?
Broken Pike
- Thread starter FISHKILL PRODUCTIONS
- Start date
For one get atleast a 90g for the time being. And with the fish being so shy. I just recently went through the same thing with a pair of FH's. So I cleaned my sand very good, got back to weekly water changes, and cleaned the filter & changed the carbon. Both fish have come alive and everytime I walk in my bed room they swim up to the top to greet me!!!
I love it!!!
Not saying this will work for u but it worked for me!!
I love it!!!
Not saying this will work for u but it worked for me!!
I am on the hunt for a larger tank. Maybe not so large though. Yeah I'm back so the water changes will from now on be frequent. Filtration is UGF. I hope to heck I get the same results. Thanks.
UGF's will become inefficient for cichlids. Most cichlids will eventually begin digging and clearing spots out that they claim as territory. This will render the flow of the UGF useless. My guess is that the UGF is already becoming overwhelmed by the ammonia production of these fish, and you have a mini-cycle.
I'd recommend a larger tank, (atleast 75 gallons- bigger the better) and much more efficient filtration. A good canister filter is the best IMO.
I'd recommend a larger tank, (atleast 75 gallons- bigger the better) and much more efficient filtration. A good canister filter is the best IMO.
i dunno how long they been exhibiting that behavior but id imagine 2 weeks in the dark stressed them out a decent amount. i think getting the pH down will be beneficial and a couple water changes should help.
another thing that might help would be to add some sort floating plant cover. my managuense i have was very skittish when people would walk by the tank and frequently rammed his head on the driftwood and cut hiw head. i bought one of those fake plant vines for lizard tanks and suctioned it to my glass top. now instead of hiding it the back corner he just sits under it but he much more out it the open. i think the surface covers helps them feel alittle safer.
another thing that might help would be to add some sort floating plant cover. my managuense i have was very skittish when people would walk by the tank and frequently rammed his head on the driftwood and cut hiw head. i bought one of those fake plant vines for lizard tanks and suctioned it to my glass top. now instead of hiding it the back corner he just sits under it but he much more out it the open. i think the surface covers helps them feel alittle safer.