Shy Distichodus

[DaveB]

Hi everyone,

I recently picked up a 10" distichodus sexfaciatus that my fish store was practically giving away. I have had one that I bought at 4" (he's 6" now) from them a year or so ago and he is a great fish so we scooped up the big one too. I figured that getting the bigger guy would get my girlfriend attached to him so she couldn't argue when I want to upgrade to a 300+ gallon tank

The smaller guy has always been very active and interesting (and kind of a jerk lately) but the big one is pretty much the opposite. He's very shy whenever people are around. I'm not especially worried about his health because I do often catch him swimming around happily when I'm not in the room, but as soon as anyone walks him he darts behind some rocks in the back of the tank and hides. He was very shy at the LFS too, and in fact I was there several times before I even noticed him, since his tank wasn't well lit.

Is this common for older, larger distichoduses? Is there anything I can do or feed him to coax him out a bit more? He just hangs out near the Ghost Knife's little tree and stares out the back of the tank. If I just sit there without moving for a while he'll eventually work up the courage to come out and say hi and play with the other distichodus, but he's pretty much anti-social when people are around. This concerns me because one of us is always there at feeding time, so sometimes I worry that he's not getting enough food since he just hides back there while all the smaller more active fish gobble up all the food.

 

[DaveB]

Whoops, first post and I double clicked Back and posted in the wrong forum. Great start! Sorry.

Here's the smaller distichodus playing with Tyrone, our convict:

 

[twk1]

I say just give him some time to adapt... he should be out and about with the others in no time since he's in there with smaller fish than him. I once had a 8-9 incher that would always dart at the food once it hits the water.. and plays with all the other fish. So i'm thinking he just needs more time to adapt... don't worry. But keep us updated! Any pics on him?

 

[DaveB]

Since he's shy it's been tough to get a good photo. If I'm working at the table nearby I can usually just stay still and eventually wait him out, but he still gets camera shy. Here's one that I got of the two of them together, the smaller guy is in the foreground. After it was taken I broke out the algae scraper!

I've had him for almost a month now and he has pretty much been th same way the whole time. My girlfriend says she sees him out playing in the early mornings when she gets ready for work, so maybe our schedules just aren't synched up.

 

[brcacti]

cool fish, I want the D. lussoso, reaches to 15 inches, while Distichidus sexfasciatus 2 or 3 feet or more. How do they get along with each other??????????????

 

[DaveB]

They get along well. The smaller one, who I've had for 15 months, is the jerk of the tank, even more of a jerk than the convict cichlid, and it's his fault that I have eartheaters in my planted tank (which is a pain in the ass!). Lately his biggest foil has been the green terror, who he lunges at from all the way across the tank for no reason.

The big guy is gentle and playful and they do hang out together when I catch him out. I actually wonder if maybe it's a girl, because the smaller one was doing the little vibrate/wiggle dance a lot when I first brought the big one home.

For me, getting a lussoso would be weird, but I am thinking of getting some young leporinus (also a relative, right?) The fish store has them for like 12 bucks for a 2 incher. I don't expect these guys to reach 2-3 feet, just because their growth could be limited by the tank size (for the next year or so, anyway), but it sure would be cool if they do. The Shedd Aquarium downtown has a sexfaciatus that's like 14", he's the biggest I've seen. He actually shares a tank with some enormous ctenapomas. I'm hoping one day my leopard gets that big too.

 

[ewurm]

I had no idea they got that large! Might have to give this one a try.

 

[fishdance]

Patience and some fearless (brainless) dither fish will help. Australian rainbow fish for example will be large enough and not hurt plants. If the ends of your display gets sudden movement or frequent foot traffic, it will feel exposed and frightened so perhaps a background to cover the ends will help make it feel more secure.

 

[DaveB]

That's a good point. He most often gets freaked out when I come around the corner from the living room (he's in the dining area) and that's right out the end of the tank. I'm not sure it'd look good to cover that end, though. Maybe a few more big fake plants would do the trick though. (All the plants in that tank are fake - I have real plants in another community tank.)

 

[brcacti]

Very cool fish, the leporinus is a Characin also but from SA compared to the Distichidus from Africa