Is it worth keeping fish you never see?

[Ardynas]

I'm having second thoughts about having fish in my tank that I never see.


I've got a spotted Raphael and two Pictus Catfish. The Raphael lives in a piece of fake driftwood and I never see him!
If I try and get him out he wedges himself in and he won't come out. I changed out his home once and had to break the ornament (w/hammer) to get him out. I turn his current home upside down occasionally so I can see (w/a flashlight) if he's still alive.


The Pictus are almost as bad. They rarely come out during the day.


So is it worth it to have fish you never see in your tank contributing to the bioload?

 

[LyndaB]

I have kuhli loaches and a featherfin cat, both species that people said would be observed rarely, if ever. Mine are so comfortable, though, that I see them daily.

Let's break apart your situation.

What kind of substrate do you have?

Are there free open swimming areas for the pictus?

Obviously, you have good hiding places.

You're likely to really stress out your fish if you shine a flashlight on it. Some species will actually die of fright when you do this.

The pictus should be kept in larger groups, you have 2. They will not exhibit the behavior they would if kept in a proper school.

The rafael is a nocturnal species, which means it comes out at night. So, no surprise really that you don't see it.

 

[severum mama]

Our raffy was a lot less shy when he got some size on him. Once we started feeding the tank in the evening instead of during the day, we used to see him scarf down pellets at every feeding. Maybe yours just needs to grow and get more comfortable?

 

[Fish24907]

Maybe, it depends on what you like about keeping fish.

I still get enjoyment from my tank even when I'm not home. In my opinion at least, I take good care of my fish, and I think they are happy. So, even when I'm not home, it makes me happy knowing that they are happy, even though i obviously can't see them when I'm not at home.

 

[Ardynas]

Let's break apart your situation.

What kind of substrate do you have?

Are there free open swimming areas for the pictus?

I've got gravel and quite a bit of free swimming area (150 gal).
When I use my flashlight I only ever see his tail sticking out since he is wedged into a spot.

 

[reefdiver]

I got the same thing going on with two plecos about 5". I was told to put the food couple inches from there cave so they get familiar. Then you can start moving it farther so till they get comfortable.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

For me, yes, it's worth it. You may want to try floating plants like Amazon Frogbit, my Pictus cats were more confident with more shade.

 

[tropical-fish]

The Raphael lives in a piece of fake driftwood and I never see him!

I had the same issue with a Raphael. Had it in my tank for over a month and never saw it swimming around. I ended up giving it away to a friend. IMO it's not worth having such a high bioload fish in your tank if you never see it.

 

[ahelmes71]

That's a great post! I had a African synodontis catfish that stayed behind a huge piece of driftwood in my cichlid tank at all times. Years went by, and I went to move the tank and I literally had FORGOTTEN that I even owned this fish, but he sure came charging out when I moved that driftwood.

I was like, "Oh yeah...I have a synodontis in there!"

By that time, he was pretty big and it was a challenge to catch him. He did successfully survive the relocation though. So that's kind of the ultimate story about keeping a fish you never see- you might just completely forget about him!

 

[Cornstar]

When I was researching kribensis and albino bn pleco, I was told that they usually hide and people rarely get to see them. But luckily for me, mine are really active during the day and swim around. My pleco just goes around the tank sucking everything it can find.

I think one tip I read somewhere was to have active fish swimming around to assure that the tank is safe. I have some danios and tiger barbs and they did the trick.

 

[platycrazy19]

I have a upside down catfish in my tank. I use to rarely see him because he's nocturnal but he started coming out more during the day time when I would feed all the other fish to catch some of the leftovers. The greatest part was that I discovered that sometimes during the evening when the light is off in the tank and its rather dark in my room I can see him swimming around the tank doing circles. It was rather funny and I have a video of it. So I think it's worth it because I do see him from time to time.

 

[Ardynas]

Well I managed to get both fish living in my fake driftwood out. I haven't returned the driftwood yet so I'm seeing more of them. I'll probably block the entrance to that particular hideout.

I think the trick is to not give reclusive fish too private of a place to live. Otherwise, you won't see them.

 

[Terrance]

I like having Titus, my Turgidus puffer, around even though he commands a tank by himself and lurks around the decor all day. Then he comes out to hunt down cherry shrimps and crayfish, or when I hand-feed seafood to him

Enjoy your fish's company even when they don't show interest in you.

 

[stone1269]

I've had a bumblebee catfish for over 3 yrs and I can count the times I've seen him on one hand so I no where ur cumn from lol but I like to think that he's healthy and happy and that's good enough for me! As far as the added bioload I don't believe its that much of a difference as long as ur doin reg water changes an gravel vac did u no the raph can bark if u take it out of the water lol I found that one time when I was moving mine to a bigger tank I wouldn't suggest it because I'm sure it stressed him out badly but it was an interesting discovery