South American Cichlids Always Afraid, PLEASE HELP!!

[king773]

Hello guys,

Well we have a 75 gallon SA cichlid tank, I've been told to starve the fish for two days, and also add dither fish to the tank to help calm the fish down so there not so scared. I've infact done both and added a bus load of new plants and spots to hide in the tank. And everytime me or my girlfriend walks passed the tank they scatter, smashing there heads into the glass and slapping the sand. I've done everything everyone has said to do to help them and nothing seems to work. Also PH if fine and so is ammonia level. Please guys help me out on this one !!!

Thank you very much for your time and inputs, well appreciated.

PS: Fish in the tank - 2 Jack demseys, one female one male, male convict, female jewel, a hybrid that idk lol, one sucker fish, and 5 large danio dithers.

 

[bettaowner]

I would let them be for now and let them get settled.

 

[Mogurako]

They don't starve in just two days, I would add more dither, maybe like 5-7 more and feed them once a day. How long have they been in the tank? It can take awhile for fish to settle in and get use to you walking by the tank.

 

[rocksor]

keep the tank lights off.

all it takes is for one skittish fish (which some jd's are) to set the other fish off.

 

[Bryanm70]

I noticed that my cichlids are shy of me during the week when they don't see me that often and more ballsy on the weekends when I sit at my desk doing course work. I can usually put my face right up to the tank and they'll be there begging for food and I can also use my fingers to group them up and lead them wherever I want in the tank!

 

[Freakgecko91]

You actually don't have any south american fish in that tank (unless the "sucker fish" is a pleco) JDs and convicts are both central american, jewels are african, and giant danios are SE asian

At any rate, a full tank shot would be much more help

 

[king773]

Heres the picture of the fish tank.

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t403/seanking773/IMAG0243_zpsba6e8eb6.jpg

 

[king773]

Any suggestions or inputs?

Another question can I get silver dollars to use as dither fish, or are they just "Target Fish" ???

 

[rocksor]

In my experience, SD's tend to be more of dither fish than target fish

 

[Aski247]

Target fish are used on highly aggressive fish. Ex- red devils, dovii, jags. I used to use giant danios so my RD would chase them and allow my bichir live with out getting beat on. Basically any fish who can help spread aggression so not 1 fish is singled out.

Dither are for skittish fish. Example- JD,severums,angels. Again you can use danios or silver dollars, basically anything that adds movement around the tank so the scared fish will be more likely to come out of hiding.

In a 75 I'd go with silver dollars before a smaller fish. But that's just my personal opinion. I think they would look better.

 

[king773]

I had 10 giant danios im down to 9 now all of a sudden, And two of there tails are gone! This is not good, do you think SD will be any better or are they going to get messed up as well ?

 

[Aski247]

There is no sure way to know with out adding them. My suggestion would be if they are showing aggression to the danios. They will likely show aggression to other fish.

However... If the see the danios as food, and THAT'S why they are going after them. Maybe a larger non food looking fish could work.

It's really a crap shoot, I'd say 50/50 the SD's would work if you are not happy with the danios.

 

[Borderlesscott]

I'd go with the SD's and leave the light out for a while, I bet you the Jewel is responsible for the missing tails.

 

[DelugeIA]

Here's the picture of the fish tank.

Cichlids in general are aggressive fish. Giving the more timid ones a place to hide will do a lot to calm the tank down. I'm quite fond of Cichlid Stones from Underwater Galleries.

• Cichlid Stones

You also might consider dropping the temperature a couple of degrees. Check your varieties but I think you should be good in the 77-78F range.

Good Luck!