My super shy Vieja Argentea
- Thread starter trueblue82
- Start date
That's insane, yours dorsal fin is damaged too?? Mine is damaged in the EXACT same way, where did you get yours? Tank looks nice btw
This is mine
This is mine
I have kept a number of Vieja species (bifasiatus, synspillum, mellanurum, fenestratus and harweigi) and found that they are all shy fish. They are not wet pet candidate and will be ultra skittish if kept alone. They get shyer with age if it is the only big fish in the tank, and having company of unthreatening dither fish or hiding places don't help. They are best kept in company with other large Viejas or CAs, so they will challenge one another instead of focusing on perceived outside threat.
For me my blood parrot fishes were super shy, when I had plants in or places to hide, fish become shy or spooked easily. I literally thought my tank was empty as well lol. I then made a bare tank so they have to interact with me. First couple of days they were spooked frequently but after I interacted with them while feeding and they have no place to hide, they slowly open up. Now they are always coming up to the tank and greeting anyone who passes by. I suggest you do that, it might work.
BP is not shy fish by nature because they have Midas gene, so eventually they will come out. It won't work with Vieja species, because they are naturally shy fish, and keeping them alone in a bare tank will terrify them more. Dovi, Midas and FH are naturally bold fish and keeping them alone in a bare tank will make them more aggressive. It all comes down to genetic, not just environment.
Lol im not sure if its a deformity or damaged, i've learned to live with it.
I googled before and found some argenteas with the same fins though.
I bought it at my local shop.
What are some of th CA/SA cichlids that are more "outgoing" besides the ones you mentioned earlier?
Interesting, I actually bought the fish because of his damaged fin. Rapps had him on his website for months
