When will they ever stop hidding?

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Randys

Randys

Polypterus
MFK Member
Nov 3, 2015
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Traverse City, Michigan
I bought a grow of juvenile Jags about 17 months ago. The original group is down to (4) and they're about 3-4 inches long.
I piled several 5 foot logs in the tank supported by rocks and they love the cover but still duck for the shadows whenever they see someone.
How long do you think they'll continue to do this?

EDIT: on darn. I intended to post this in the Central & South American section.
Could somebody please move it for me?
 
Should be bigger than 3”-4” at 17 months old. Was that a typo?

You can add dither fish or remove some cover.

I knew some discus keepers that would throw food in and turn off the room lights and sit way back so they don’t spook the fish. That made the fish forever frightful.

I always make a ton noise and movement before I feed the fish and sit right in front of the tank…especially with shy fish. Eventually, they associate that noise with food and they soon come around.
 
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phreeflow said:
Should be bigger than 3”-4” at 17 months old. Was that a typo?

You can add dither fish or remove some cover.

I knew some discus keepers that would throw food in and turn off the room lights and sit way back so they don’t spook the fish. That made the fish forever frightful.

I always make a ton noise and movement before I feed the fish and sit right in front of the tank…especially with shy fish. Eventually, they associate that noise with food and they soon come around.
Click to expand...

Ya know, I've wondered about the size myself, although it may be more like 4-5 inches. It's hard to tell because they don't spend much time in the open.
It seems like none of the fish in my four tanks grow quickly even though I'm a fanatic about water changes. I've got these Jags in a six foot long 125 and it gets a 50% WC every week.
I've thought about removing some of the logs but have always assumed more cover is better. At least I would think it makes them more comfortable.
I've also made it a habit to make a lot of noise when feeding. I open the center cover and swish the food back and forth so it doesn't go down the overflow. The little buggers are always lined up watching me through the cracks between the logs. LOL
 
Looks really cool…very unique and natural. I thought detritus might be collecting under the logs and raising nitrates but your tank looks pristine. Great idea to rest the logs on the stones so they aren’t sitting on the substrate. Sadly, I don’t see any fish in there…maybe you made them too comfy. Try some dithers
 
That looks like a nice set up, and an interesting scape, I like it. But as nice as that scape is, if I was you i'd want to be seeing fish, not just scape! 17 months they've been playing hide and seek? You've got more patience than me that's for sure.

Dithers would be next on my list to try and bring them out a bit, at least you'd have the dithers to look at if it failed! Other than that, they've had 17 months to "acclimatise" and I'd be tempted to give up on them and try something more active.

There's nothing worse than a bunch of soft ass fish which hide all the time which have you scratching your head as to what you're doing wrong. Maybe you're not doing anything wrong. Your clean water, but yet lack of growth, suggests you might just have a bunch of wimpy runts!

That tank looks good, it needs activity though to make it look great. I know what I'd be doing.
 
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