Zonatus tank advice

[ScattyNatty]

Hi all, this is looong one so grab a drink lol.
I'm hoping to get some advice regaring my Vieja Zonatus. She's 9 inches in size including her tail and if the devil had fins, this would be her! She came to me as part of a trio four years ago, whilst in quarantine, she spawned with a green Texas (think this is why she's not the largest lol) whilst in quarantine, I had a wipe out which I only discovered when I came home from work. Most of the heaters had smashed in the tanks so the fish must have been exposed to an electrical current , my fuse box was blown out and when I finally got the electricity back on, only 3 filters were working. We later found out it was faulty wiring which hadn't been updated in decades, coupled with damp under the house reaching the fuse box. I had 3 surviving fish out of 13 tanks. (Just giving a bit of backstory so you understand the decision I need to make) She was brought back to health in a 50 gallon tank, she was quite happy and interactive whilst in this tank. Due to her requirements, I moved her over to my 100 gallon tank and shut down and sold off the empty tanks (I didn't have the heart to set them up again). She has been in the 100 gallon for 3 years now, and spends all of her time at one end around her cave. I have tried feeding her at the other end and she's a stubborn madam and just waits for the food to come to her in the filter flow, I've had nanny cams on her at night and day and the only time she ventures up the other end is if I disturb her whilst doing tank maintenance. This (finally) is my question: I have 2 tanks running (the other two survivors were a pair of gold barbs so my other tank is a tropical community) do I move her back to the 3ft 50 gallon, or, do I keep her in the 100? I've finally decided to start getting back into the hobby and am thinking about re-stocking my community tank. She will be a 1 fish 1 tank kinda girl for the rest of her life as she's had the taste of blood and liked it whenever I've tried to find her a tankmate. This fish is my baby lol, she's my survivor and I don't want to compromise her wellbeing by giving her too small a tank. At the same time, I think she might feel more secure in the 3ft as that's what she was used to for a while. I'd like your thoughts on this. Pat on the back if you read this long ass ramble lol!!

 

[justarn]

Maybe a decor change could help, I think the 100g is better for her. Add a pic of the setup.
Also what the traffic like near the tank, in a quiet or busy part of the house. Maybe a tank move would help?

 

[Stanzzzz7]

How is her tank furnished?
Do you have lots of caves and driftwood?
Often a sparsely decorated tank can make a fish hide.
Cover from above like a layer of duckweed can also help.
Is the tanks lighting bright? If so try dimmer lighting, this can also help.
Is the tank in a busy room in the house?
Sometimes fish that are kept in a quiet room can be skittish when you enter as they are not used to human presence.
Do you think she would talerate a shoal of robust non cichlid tank mates? Cichlids may attack another cichlid but ignore a group of appropriately sized tetras or catfish etc.
I would definitely say that a bigger tank is always more beneficial than a small one. I would definitely try to make the 100 gallon her home.

 

[ScattyNatty]

I'll get a pic for you when I get home, I've always kept dim lighting on the tank as it's near a window, I'm unable to move the tank as due to the damp that was under the house the floorboards had to be replaced, but it's in the dining room. There are quite a few plants and caves in there. She's killed silver dollars, tinfoil barbs and an 18 inch pleco so I've given up on the idea of tank mates. I'm happy whichever tank she's in as I'll stock the community tank to suit.

 

[ScattyNatty]

She's always happy to come out when I'm about, she knows she's getting fed lol, its just strange that she's not using all of the space.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Maybe try a divider for a while.
Put some of your community fish one side and her on the other. There presence may bring her out. If this works try moving the other fish back out and remove the divider. She may resort back to hiding but might be worth a shot.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Do you have plenty of flow and aeration in the tank?
What temperature is your water at?

 

[ScattyNatty]

The tank temperature is 26c and I'm running a fluval 405 external, I did have two on it but one ended up with a busted impeller shaft, I figured one would be adequate with just the one fish, I like to overfilter my tanks so I may add that back on or upgrade . I'll definitely try the divider and see if that encourages her to explore, I'd like to keep her in the 100 for her own good so it's worth a shot, thanks for the suggestion

 

[Trimapit]

I like the divider idea.... And if all else fails keep breeding something small in your community tank and just add a constant supply of Dithers.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Could try putting her in the 50 and see if it helps her behavior. I normally would not recommend a zonatus for a tank that small, but as long as you stay ontop of water quality, a 9" fish which is done growing in a 50 gallon isn't that bad. And if the fish is more active and seems more "happy" in there, why not. If the behavior doesn't change I would probably put back in the 100.