Lol nice mine did the exact same when she outgrew the plastic log so I made a cave out of slate. That fish almost made me quit the hobby after her swim bladder got damaged, had to force myself to put her down after hand feeding her for a year while she laid on her side. Shut down all but one tank after that because it was too depressing going back in my old fishroom. If you ever get a male be sure to have a cave he can't get in because they're very hard on the females.
Awww man that's brutal! I'd be devastated as well. I don't think I'll get a Male im happy with just her, might get a few armored or speedy tank mates but she will be there lone aggressor.
Well Mike you couldn't be more right. I managed to get her in the new tank last night(quick tank cycle because everything in the new tank was from my 300 gallon) along with a pleco and if I get within 15ft of tank she swims into the cave I built out of rocks and doesnt budge until im hiding on the other side of the room lol
Yup that sounds familiar lol I think the key is giving her cover without too much cover if that makes sense. Give her shallow caves where she feels secure from 3 sides but doesn't get used to hiding in the dark. Maybe space out the rocks a bit so she stays under the wood more often (beautiful piece btw).
Yah I built a 2 floor cave with the rocks haha and she does tend to stay in there alot right now and if I walk up while she is free swimming she freaks out and runs into the sides of the tank until she gets into the cave. I managed to get a 8 " common pleco for free (along with about 50 blue crayfish that are now in a 20gallon breeding tank to feed to the cichlids) and a bristle nose in the tank but it doesnt seem to help her out and as some of you have mentioned she may need something more speedy active to take her focus away from the outside because like as you stated with your fish when she was in my 300 she couldn't care less about the outside world just which fish were coming into her area.
I have a breeding pair of convicts I'm thinking of adding into the tank as I've seen them face off with the RTM before and they stand their ground quite well and my RTM doesnt seem to eager to kill things even when I add a guppy for feeding it takes her a few hours to finally gobble it up and I even tried 3 small crayfish yesterday and she only bit one in half during the night and the other two are still jetting around the tank and she doesnt seem too interested.
If adding a breeding pair, just make sure they don't get her backed into a corner in her own tank! They are surprisingly fiesty. If aiming for dithers, I usually go for a few same sex individuals so they don't stake out their own territory and everything. But hey if the pair works for ya, sounds like a nice addition.
