New Cichlids get scared when they see food?

[dlwn88]

Hey guys,

I'm probably okay but I just want to make sure. My 75g finally cycled and I've had 5 tiger barbs for 3 days, and three cichlids (Blue Acara, Firemouth, Gold Severum) for two days now. I decided to finally feed the cichlids, adding some of the frozen cichlid delight into the tank. The tiger barbs went insane compared to giving them tropical flakes, a fun sight to see, but the cichlids, who are just now getting comfortable moving around the tank, all hide for their life as soon as the food was added. They weren't scared when I came into the room either, only after adding food. Is this normal?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[DragonFish71]

I know our firemouths go insane with frozen foods while our JDs used to shy away from it. Eventually the JDs got hungry enough or nosy enough to see what all the fuss was about and now they go insane for the frozen. I also started letting it melt in a cup of tank water before feeding.

I think some of it is they most likely aren't used to it from the breeders, LFS etc. Not to mention the coldness could turn them off to it. Try sitting it in a cup of tank water to thaw then feeding.