im looking for a way to start getting my fish to come out into the open. all they do is hide. one is starting to show for food but is still real skiddish. any tips?
most successful way to get fish to come out
- Thread starter marauders30
- Start date
well right now its a salvini and a flowerhorn. they are both small and in a 125. the flowerhorn is on one side of a divider because he is new and really small. i know im wasting tank space but i havnt found another fish i really like so ive left the 125 empty after my loisellei decided he was gonna bail out awhile back in the middle of the night
My salvinis are pretty outgoing, sizes 1.5" (female) and 2.5" (two males)... they're the only cichlid in the tank that comes to the surface for food... they even nibble on floating pellets (hikari bio-gold+) that were going to waste because my other cichlids refuse to eat from the surface, but the tank is very active and there is a lot of dither fish (loaches, eel, siamese algae eaters, prawns).
The way I understand it lonely fish tend to take way longer to feel comfortable in a new tank, because there's nothing else in there indicating it's "safe" to be out and about... that's the purpose of dither fish. At least my clown loaches are always the first ones to come for food, they get into the net and sit there for hours when I leave it in the tank lol, little pigs aren't afraid of anything... they even nibble on my fingers when I'm re-arranging the tank... that way the rest of the fish know it's safe and come out as well.
The way I understand it lonely fish tend to take way longer to feel comfortable in a new tank, because there's nothing else in there indicating it's "safe" to be out and about... that's the purpose of dither fish. At least my clown loaches are always the first ones to come for food, they get into the net and sit there for hours when I leave it in the tank lol, little pigs aren't afraid of anything... they even nibble on my fingers when I'm re-arranging the tank... that way the rest of the fish know it's safe and come out as well.
Sometimes providing more cover will make a fish feel more secure about venturing out. If the lighting is too bright it could keep the fish in hiding too. Adding dithers can give other fish confidence to come out in the open more. When you drop the divider I hope your FH doesn't take over the entire tank. Some FH will do just that.
i found dithers a great way of stopping the fish diving for cover when i came into the room but i had a couple of fish that literally hid all day and saw them very little apart from feeding, i added some floating plants covering about half the tank and the change was almost instant and the fella's (chocolate cichlid) spent most of there time in open water under the plants
I used "dither" fish with all my tanks, and it does actually help them come out. Also- as they get bigger, they come out more and more 
i have a JD that likes to hide a lot but i bought a school of tiger barbs, a school of giant danios and a couple small convicts and that has helped in bringing him out more
i see you guys had success with dithers. what should i get for those? is there a cool dither that would really look neat in the tank?
clown loaches look great anywhere and are peaceful, fearless, fast and awesome at cleaning. They will spend the whole day cleaning whatever leftover food the rest of your fish missed, or playing with each other which is very fun to watch.
Tiger barbs are cool too except for the fact that they might nip other fishes' fins.
But you have a lot of alternatives in a tank that size.
Tiger barbs are cool too except for the fact that they might nip other fishes' fins.
But you have a lot of alternatives in a tank that size.