Skittish vieja

[Rocksor]

I had one female bifa with 5 other cichlids in an 8 foot tank. It was never skittish from 3" to 9". It also paid no attention to me, and did it's own thing of just looking for food and trying to convince the male nicaraguan cichlid to mate.

 

[Hybridfish7]

It seems I have an oddball vieja then, he's a rio salado breidohri and has tripled in size in a matter of months and is very active/comes up to the glass and follows me around. Growing faster than my f3 labiatus

 

[Theos.dad]

The most common instinctual threat to most cichlids are birds (that instinctual fear doesn't disappear because they are in a tank).
An open well lit tank means no cover, no where to hide and escape from that threat, this is why cichlids seek out overhanging vegetation, sunken logs and caves.
View attachment 1474300
Above a cormorant fishing in a Cenote in Mexico.
The most common cichlid in this Cenote were Rocio (JDs)
Below , fish eating birds hunting along the shore of a Rio Magdalena tributary in Colombia.
View attachment 1474301
Dither fish can help, as cichlids watch them as a barometer of aerial threat.
View attachment 1474302
From the same Cenote as the 1st pic, a JD out and about, because the mollies (dither fish) are dithering, and unconcerned.
Below a video of another Cenote.
Eden2
Although any of the dither fish suggested in posts above will work,
if you want to use geographically correct dither species for Vieja, sail fin mollies, and other live bearers like Gambusia, or Astyanax tetras would be what you would find in that part of Central America.
Below a video I took in Cenote Aktun Ha where Astyanax tetras were common
Aktun Ha

Excellent advice as always. Did you snap these photos? Love that shot of the mollies and the jd.

 

[maxstillen]

Never had a skittish vieja in my life. All the ones I had from 1 inch or 3 inch to 8 inch were never skittish. I guess depends on where your tanks are positioned in your home or tank mates.

 

[tiger15]

3 to 8 inch Vienna is still a juvie. Vieja, can grow to 12 to 15 inch and by that size, I can only keep a couple in my 125 gal and they became skittish. I guess if you can keep a colony of 6+ in a 300+ gal, they will not be skittish as they pay more attention to one another. This is different from some wet pet such as flower horn, red devil or red terror that will never be shy even kept alone.

 

[keystonewma]

I have a bifas that is skittish when the light shines in from the outside windows. It has been better the past 6 months, but at times in the past it would beat itself up on decorations during some of the episodes.

 

[Zanzag]

My regani is and has always been a glass banging jerkfish. Except when I drop worms in the tank or have a phone too close. They terrify him for some reason. He's currently about 9" and form about 2" on his behavior hasn't changed. Can't say he's ever been alone though.

 

[..puSkar..]

My fish had become skittish after I added sand and pebbles as substrate .
I've had grown him in a bare bottom tank from fry. I suspected the substrate to be a problem and thus removed the subsrate , he's almost back to normal tho not 100% but it's getting there.

 

[..puSkar..]

 

[Zanzag]

I hear that pain. My wife made me remove all rocks small enough for the fish to throw out of the tank. It's helped exponentially with keeping it clean but also stops the fish from smacking pebbles off of the glass