taking out hiding spots?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
janzal3;3007991; said:
I am sorry guys I have to disagree. I understand your reasons, but I feel if the fish likes the shelter, give it to them. They will be happier for it and less stressed. In due time they will swim around. That's just my subjective opinion.
Click to expand...

Janzal, your option does work too.

I used to giving hiding space for my dats, can help tigers feel more comfortable, :Dbut was a lot more patient then.
 
Really it is just a matter of personal preference. I was surprised to see so many pics of peoples dat tanks that have six or more tiger fish wharehoused in a bare tank. Apparently it works for some, but to me it looks too stark (like the lfs tanks). A natural looking tank with caves, driftwood, and plants is aesthetically more pleasing. But to each his own.
 
i leave the hiding places.. i just arange them so theres no 100% hiding
 
I've been reading this post and find the responses interesting. Like most Dat owners I've too have the frustration of Dats that hide. In the past I've taken everything out. The result? They still hid-they hid behind filter inlet pipes and heaters. I have a black background and they were so unstable you couldn't even see them. They also just spent all day cowering in the corners at the back of the tank-like you see them do in LFS.

See the Indo in my Avatar?-that was my old 11" that had to go as it hammered the s... out of the other Dats. Twice only I saw it stable-the first day I put it in the tank and second time when we moved house and it was in the tank the first day(when I took the pic). All other times it was as black as night and hid.

My current set-up has driftwood with Java Fern and Giant Vallis. The Dats are slowly, slowly starting to show and come out when the lights are on. I personally feel that most get more confident the bigger they get.

Read any similar posts from the past and everyone will tell you its a waiting game-PATIENCE. And thats the other frustrating thing-they grow painfully slow so its going to take a long while.
Rob
 
this is just my opinion but people with like 100-125 gallon and have bigger datnoids will eventually have to take out some of the stuff because it gives them less space to move around with lots of decors. on the other hand, ive tried both setups. and what it turned out was 50/50 for me. with bare tank my 1 thin bar stables out and with decors my indo stables out. so i decided to throw something black with plant background with some live or fake plants and they seem to like it. 2 of my indos are fully gold and stable, 1 thinbar is also stable. and 4 of my silver datnoids are still black. so i guess it all depending on how the datnoids feel. its really hard to adjust them to their liking.
 
when the tiger get bigger 18 inch like mine were will it find a hiding place then :D

take out the hiding places when they are small and they will get brave faster
 
I also had an 18 inch dat. I kept a huge plastic plant at one end and the middle mostly open. When it wasnt swimming around it spent most of its time on the other side of that plant. At 18 inches it wasn't exactly hidden. You could see it perfectly well. The point is, it is in their nature to remain hidden. That is what they are most comfortable with. When you took away it's shelter it became stressed and acted out aggressively. IMO.

My dat seemed to swim around the most after I change the water. Has anyone else noticed this?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom