How long until my cichlid is excited to see me???

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PGJE

PGJE

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 16, 2017
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I have a 5 inch texas cichlid that is in a 30 gallon tank and he always hide when people are around. I bought him 3 giant danios for dither fish, and they seem to be working. the cichlid is slowly getting better and inches out of hiding while i'm around. I am wondering how long it takes from getting dither fish to the point where the cichlid is excited for feeding time...

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would getting another texas cichlid work??? Or should I wait. It's been 2 days since i got the dither fish.
 
Ogertron3000 said:
It would help to add some more plants and driftwood for cover. If,he feels more secure he will start coming out more.
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Yep, that's what I was going to say, he has almost no cover, the tank is way too open and exposed for him to feel secure. Add some driftwood, maybe some rocks so he has lots of places to hide rather than just a single spot surrounded by completely open and exposed areas where monsters can eat him...
 
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I haven't kept a Texas, but my Paratilapia polleni responded to dithers within an hour and started to noticeably associate me with food after about a month.
 
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I have kept this annoying fish for nearly a year now and I wan't to get a different type of cichlid if he is not going to act normal. I have kept him in a 50 gallon with turtles before he was in the 30 gallon, so I think that didn't help him much. Do you think I should keep him and he will come out eventually, or should I sell him and buy a different fish?
 
Cichlids are smart fish with unique personalities, He might just be a shy guy. Although I agree that it looks like that is the only cover in the tank, so I am not surprised he is behind it. Floating plants work wonders in my experience, they help the fish not feel threatened from above. But at the end of the day, if he is not what you are looking for personality wise, I would sell him and get another cichlid. 30 gallons is too small for this fish anyway. It may be a female, I would expect a male to be a bit larger than 5" if he is over a year old.
 
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