I have 5 indos that range from 4-5 inches. When I first got them they were okay for a couple of days. They started chasing each other all the time so I put some drift would in the tank to give them hiding places. Now I have had them for 5 months and that is all they do is hide. You don't even know they are in the tank unless you really look. They only come out to eat every couple of days. They act like they are spooked. I keep them in a 200 gallon with 6 stingrays of 6 to 8 inches. Do you think they are stressed over each other? Should I get rid of 4 and just keep 1? I am really debating about keeping any of them.
Do all Indos hide?
- Thread starter FishDog
- Start date
Being ambush predators, its in their nature to hide. Not to say that they always will, I've noticed with all my dats past and present that once you get them off of live food they tend to be more visible. My theory is that since they no longer need to "ambush" their food (pellets, shrimp, etc..) that they dont have the need to hide. Just my experience with them. Now stress from other fish is another story and could cause any fish too hide more. Good luck with them.
I used to have 6 Indos with a GT and they were out all the time, but then I got a pair of Salvini. They started hiding...I took out the GT and a few weeks later I took out the Salvinis. They still hide. And now I sold sold them all.
FishDog;2171146; said:
Indos and tigers in general do like to hide, esp. when young. But once they gat past 4 inches in my experience, they get braver and venture out. You've done well to wait 5 months, now perhaps its time to try bare tank, with no drift wood. 3 things that I am confident to bring tigers out and increase stability are:
1) I find Giant Vallis pants with growth of 2 metres plus provides perfect ambush cover which allows u to see the tigers at same time. The Light & shadows created by Movement of vallis tends to stimulate the light base colours with black bars on my tigers. So give this a try.
2) Subdued lighting, and i mean very dim. I have a 5 x 2 x tank (100G) with one 2 foot T8 tube of 15Watts whcih suts just over the vallis. Anything brighter just spooks the tigers.
3) No hiding & lights on timer.
Some are always dark in colour & hide
However, some tigers are just genetically shy or dark in colour. Out of 8 Inods, 6 are stable, but 2 have always been shy, like to hide in the corners. Only become stable when being chased or threatened. The other 6 are always displaying and good lighjt base colour and black bars. But the 2 shier ones, as they have grown bigger, have started to display more.
Don't sell them, I had a 2" IT I've grown to 8.5" in 4 years. It was always bullied, by a bigger IT, until I sold the big IT 6 weeks ago. Now it's my one of my most stable & best tiger. See pics below all of the same tiger (& my last post Vid update after 12 weeks)
DO your rays ever attack? some rays your size can be extremely aggressive, so tigers may be getting bullied, hence hiding. But your tank is pretty good size, so I doubt it, but keep a close eye.
If drift wood has not helped after 5 months, take all hiding spaces out and add some Plants for cover instead. Keep us posted.
Driftwood was recently added about 3 weeks ago. I had the tank bare bottom with 2 floating plants that cover about 1/3 of the surface. They hid behind the inlet piping and pressed in the back corners of the tank. I added the driftwood with hopes that if they had a place to hide they would come out more (like cichlids do).
The aquarium should be filled with plants and hiding places, since the natural behavior of the Datnoid is to stalk prey and hide among rocks and plants. Your Datnoid will appreciate grassy plants, since such plants make it possible for the striped Datnoid to melt into the environment and feel invisible. If you deprive your Datnoid of suitable hiding places it will spend most of its time hiding behind the filter or Heater. Regular water changes must be performed since the Datnoid is sensitive to nitrates.
Taken from - http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/predatory/datnoid.php
Taken from - http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/predatory/datnoid.php
FishDog;2172061; said:
I used to have drift wood, loads of it, but my tigers kept hiding. so after 2 years of fully decor tank, I stripped it, and left only gian t vallis and sand.
Perhaps your tank size, is adding to the tigers instability. With no other dither fish and so many Rays, they will feel shy, and with adding driftwood, they'll only try to blend in with the dark colour.
U could try moving them to s smaller tank.