Enrichment, enrichment, enrichment.

[Randys]

This seems to be talked about an awful lot on animal shows on TV or YouTube.

Has anyone ever tried to give their fish something to "enrich his life"?

I've got a 10" Trimac in a 90 gallon and he's looking real BORED. LOL

 

[Gourami Swami]

Try ping-pong balls, some cichlids like to play with them. Laser pointer as well, I've had fish go nuts chasing the red dot. There are ways you can entertain a bored fish, if you so choose. Breeding your own guppy feeders and letting him hunt them is another idea.

 

[Randys]

Thanks!

As a matter of fact, I just picked up some ping pong balls yesterday. I’ll give those a try today.

My wife is always asking my how I can keep that “poor thing” in that tank all alone. I tell her: “He’s not alone! He’s got US!”

She looks at me like I’ve got two heads.

LOL

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Not a cichlid keeper but redoing the aquascaping every now and then can be useful. Especially if you own a cichlid that likes to redo it to their taste, it gives them something to do if they don't like what you scaped.

 

[duanes]

A friend ran/runs? an octopus exhibit at a public zoo.
He gave it Legos, it builds all kinds of bizarre structures.
I realize that probably wouldn't work for a trimaculatus though, but you never know.

 

[Krismo962]

crossword puzzle

 

[Randys]

A friend ran/runs? an octopus exhibit at a public zoo.
He gave it Legos, it builds all kinds of bizarre structures.

Now THAT would be something cool to see!

 

[Randys]

crossword puzzle

That only makes him frustrated cause he’s such a terrible speller.

And I’m tired of hearing: WHATS A FOUR LETTER WORD FOR.....
SO annoying!

 

[RD.]

My adult male midas enjoys chomping on, and swimming with, the small one. He prefers red, over blue or black. lol
Kong Classic Dog Toy: 5 Sizes / CHEAPER THAN CHEWY! (gladdogsnation.com)

 

[jjohnwm]

Well, I guess that anything in his tank will provide enrichment to some extent, whether it's just plants and decor or the less traditional stuff like toys.

I like collecting snails from my tanks and throwing them by the handful into my Musk Turtle's enclosure. He spends the next several days hunting them down among the driftwood and rocks; that's enrichment for him. That wonderful crunching sound when he finds one is enrichment for me.

A small octopus that I owned many years ago always had a convoluted and complicated tank decor to amuse him, including several ceramic and stone containers that served as hidey-holes. When I sat down in the fish room, he would always choose a shelter that allowed him to keep an eye on me. If I moved my chair, he would either switch shelters or often simply reach out with a couple of arms and turn the shelter he was in so that he could see me. These things are so smart it's spooky.

Even the smartest fish are, by comparison, complete imbeciles. But I still like the idea of providing and sometimes changing decor for them to explore. I simply can't stand featureless, bare-bottom, stimulation-free tanks.