Trelize Posted June 22, 2014 Report Share Posted June 22, 2014 So the tank has been running for almost 3 months now and so far everything is running pretty smoothly apart from one thing ... Apart from feeding time and then only while they are eating I never see the Dems or yellows , actually I am wrong ... from about 10 meters away they do tend to make an appearance but as soon as I even think of coming any closer ... GONE ! Its getting a little stale saying to people believe it or not there are actually fish in there :fshi: I know they are Juvi's and are supposed to grow out of it but I really think if anything they are becoming more skittish and shy as time goes on ? I have been trying to figure out what's up by trawling the net and have come up with these possibilities and was hoping for opinions please ? - Juvenile fish ? - Not enough stock ( I have 20 Dems and 20 Yellows - 540 litre ) - Lighting too bright :dno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted June 22, 2014 Report Share Posted June 22, 2014 Juvi fish would be my thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calculator Posted June 23, 2014 Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 I would say it is just juvi stock, it seems to be a nice number of fish in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananalobster Posted June 23, 2014 Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 I have the same fish (but only 10 yellows) the 10 yellows by themselves were skittish for the first few weeks before I added the 20 demasoni as well as 6 others, the day after they were introduced they were all swimming at the glass whenever anyone went near the tank, as well as swimming at all levels. My tanks nearly half the size and in a busy living room next to a high traffic doorway. How long have you had them? I would have thought my ones situation would have made them more skittish than yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted June 23, 2014 Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 Dim the lighting and give them time, IMO. Hopefulls as they grow and get used to their surroundings [in and outside the tank] they will become more bold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trelize Posted June 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 I have the same fish (but only 10 yellows) the 10 yellows by themselves were skittish for the first few weeks before I added the 20 demasoni as well as 6 others, the day after they were introduced they were all swimming at the glass whenever anyone went near the tank, as well as swimming at all levels. My tanks nearly half the size and in a busy living room next to a high traffic doorway. How long have you had them? I would have thought my ones situation would have made them more skittish than yours. I have had them in for almost 3 months now , and were always walking past the tank so I think enough activity ? I was looking at your build thread , awesome mate ! I was thinking of getting some red top trewavasae too or Peacocks , not sure yet ? Dim the lighting and give them time, IMO. Hopefulls as they grow and get used to their surroundings [in and outside the tank] they will become more bold. My lighting is not dimmable unfortunately , but I have Current Freshwater + units on the way !! David you are welcome to say I told you so ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Is there some sort of reflection spooking them when you get near? Could be lighting? Do you have staphire glass? Some sort of dither fish perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trelize Posted June 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Is there some sort of reflection spooking them when you get near? Could be lighting? Do you have staphire glass? Some sort of dither fish perhaps. - Anything that comes near the tank spooks them ! - going to be trying new lights (Current freshwater + ) - I do have ultra clear glass - what type of dither fish would you suggest ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likoma Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Hey there bud, You might find its a combination of all 3 factors. In a tank that size You could have an exemplary amount of fish resembling the lake. The reality is that mbuna are just doing what they do naturally and hunker in to the rocks. To instantly change the dynamic you could add a colony of open water haps that would act as dither fish. Never underestimate strength in numbers. If you want I can email you with some fish combinations that look really good. Cheers Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 I was at the AFA club meeting last month and the speaker was saying that depending on the lighting in the room sometimes things moving outside the house - even cars coming down the road - can cause a sudden reflection which will spook and/or stress the fish - I guess like a bolt of lightning, sudden and sharp. So wondered if that was more it than people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flymike Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 I had a very similar problem in a 200l tank with 12 dem juvies, 7 yellows (3 adult, 4 juvie) and 3 alunocara"s, not that long ago. Things were all good, then for seemingly no reason they would do the same, hide with any movement near tank, and only dart out to grab food then hide again. I was checking water quality trying to work out if it was something in the water stressing them, all seamed ok thought it may be to much light, so dropped down to 1 bulb, no change after two weeks. Came to the conclusion as there was a slight creek in our floor when approaching the tank it may be that, but that's a long shot with what I know now. I have since shifted some of the structures around and removed the yellows and added 10x Auratus juvies, the Auratus aren't scared by anything so far, and the dems now hang out in the open with them all the time. Was just a change in the dynamics of the tank seamed to fix it, floor still creeks but dosnt seem to bother them. Im not sure what caused them to act like that in the first place, but the change in scenery and tank mates changed things in about 2 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POWER77 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 I had the same situation with my colony of 25 dems (mostly adult fish) in a 240L. Would never see them and I would feed them then leave the room straight away for 15mins so they would eat it off the ground. If I quietly poked my head around the corner without them noticing I would always see them out and about swimming all over the tank then as soon as I walked in they would all spook into their holes. I have since moved them into my 450L with about 25 other Peacocks, Haps and Mbuna. They are like completely different fish! Always out swimming all over the tank. I'm not sure but these are some of my guesses as to why: 1) Tank location - The 240L is just to the left of the door as you walk in so when the fish see someone they are all of a sudden right next to the tank but the 450L is on the other side of the room so they see someone approaching from much further away. 2) Water flow - The 240L only has 1x CF1200 whereas the 450L has 1x CF1200, 1x CF2700 and a 12,000 LPH wave maker. So a lot more flow around the tank could be getting them out? 3) Other species - The 450L is predominantly an all male tank so has a lot of active peacocks, haps and a few Mbuna swimming around. I have found most of these fish were like this even from a young age growing up in the same 240L the dems were hiding in. Sounds like the tank location is not a problem and your flow is probably fine. I would look at adding a group of juvie Blue Dolphins http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1061. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nudge Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 From memory your tank is see through so can be viewed from both sides? this might be spooking them a bit as well. They will be seeing movement / reflections from all angles, being that they are still small i would say these two factors could be whats causing them to hide. I agree with the others and add some more fish, prob hap or peacock as another mbuna won't help( they like the rocks). I would def pass on the arautus, check out the net for all the horror stories of arautus killing all other tank mates, these guys get super aggro and need big num and a lot of space. I would look at a few male peacocks and/or haps. Or you may be able to have 1 breeding group of peacocks and 1 breeding group of haps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nudge Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 my bad...... :oops: auratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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