Cichlid shyness

[Brospace4]

I have a 55 gal with good hiding spots, and a few new world juvis (2.5-3 inches) I was wondering why my cichlids are so afraid of me. Cause i see them out in the tank and when i walk in the room the swim into their hiding spots. My rope fish also does this. And now that i just did a tank cleaning and fished out my green terror they're more terrified than ever. Please help.

 

[xwing]

Because their babies it's like instinct in the wild they are better of swimming away from the unknown giant give the time and they will grow our of their shyness after a while they will see you and know you feed them

 

[aquariumsB2cool]

As they get older they'll get more brave. Make sure you clean the filter frequently and keep the water well balanced. My green terrors act like that too if I don't clean the filter often enough. Also, give them vegetable supplements, helps their color and over all health

 

[Brospace4]

Thanks that helps

 

[Brospace4]

They all come out now that i did a huge thorough water/filter clean and added dithers/pleco

 

[Salty_Dawg]

Got any "dither" fish?

It is common for a lot of fish to hide when they see their owners until they settle in.

 

[Aquaenthused]

Good to hear of your success!! Hope you have fun with your NW babies.

Just a suggestion, since you have active dither fish now, you could try hand feeding, or at least trying to... This has helped me with cichlid shyness in the past.

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[Mogurako]

Just saying "New Worlds" does absolutely nothing to tell us anything about your stock. This is exactly why I hate that term because you're encompassing two whole continents of fish that are completely different.

Take the couple extra minutes and tell us the stock and provide a full tank shot if you can. This will help you get an answer faster and keep mundane/pointless replies to a minimum.

Since we know nothing about your setup and stock I can only offer this advice:

- Add dither fish that will constantly be out swimming and make them feel more secure.

- Turn off the lights for a few days or subdue the lighting.

 

[Freakgecko91]

I'm gonna have to side with Mogurako, new world really doesn't mean anything. There's a huge difference between a centrals and souths, and I know I need to get better at not using that phrase. Dithers will definitely help, and generally age means everything. Also, seeing the tank layout will help, knowing if you have enough cover/breaks in the line of site. There's so many factors that go into this, even foot traffic around the tank plays into it.

 

[Brospace4]

Thanks for all the sujjestions, i have a firemouth, blood red parrot, blue acara, and i recently got a neon green jewel( it african i know). I also got a 1 inch bristelnose male. The dithers i got are rosy red glass barbs. 2 are longfin so i think those are male. My ropefish hides in a front plant i put on the side against the glass. I have a wood, a 2 hole rock, front plant-bushes, two background plants, two rocks i found in the ocean, amd two regular plants(large/centertank)

 

[Brospace4]

Oh and i have three barbs total and the cichlids are juvis

 

[Aquaenthused]

Sounds like a beautiful tank!! I believe jewels are like kribs and paratilapia species from the Congo river, not the rift lakes and they are right at home in an Amazon tank. This, my friends, is another species that fall under the NW category, as well Asian cichlid varieties. Yes, I know the wide variety of types of cichlids that fall under the category of NW cichlids.

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[Mogurako]

Sounds like a beautiful tank!! I believe jewels are like kribs and paratilapia species from the Congo river, not the rift lakes and they are right at home in an Amazon tank . This, my friends, is another species that fall under the NW category, as well Asian cichlid varieties. Yes, I know the wide variety of types of cichlids that fall under the category of NW cichlids. Why does everybody have to be so rude?

Oh dear where ever do I begin with this beauty?!


The Congo River is a river in Africa, it's the world's deepest river with measured depths in excess of 220 m (720 ft).It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged. Additionally, its overall length of 4,700 km (2,920 mi) makes it the ninth longest river in the world. It also passes through multiple countries: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia.

While not part of the Rift lakes the tributaries of the Congo do flow in and out of the Rift Valley. With all the tributaries, small lakes associated with the river it's wild inaccurate to say "all these species are from the Congo river".

-Hemichromis guttatus " Common Jewel" are from Ivory Coast to Southern Cameroon.

-Pelvicachromis pulcher "Krib" are from Coastal regions in Nigeria and west-central Cameroon.

- Paratilapia sp. are from Madagascar which isn't even a part of the continent of Africa. They also need water with a ph of 8.0+

All the species listed above which you gave examples of ARE NOT included in the "New World" category. The Kribs and Jewels are from countries in AFRICA! Which means the fall under the order of
"Old World aka African". Paratilapia and any of the cichlids from the Asian continents are more of
"Miscellaneous Ciclhlids".

While the species listed by you do share some of the same water parameters as a South American set up you they are not "right at home in an Amazon tank" mainly do to differences in aggression.

The Term "New World" only includes South American and Central American cichlids.

Also no one is being rude you're just making ignorant statements.

 

[Mogurako]

Here's a visual aid if that helps.

 

[Freakgecko91]

I'd also like to point out that the Asian species, which consist of only 4 species spread across 2 genera, are generally fresh to brackish water fish. Very few North, South, or Central American cichlid species ever live in brackish water, with the Mayan cichlid, cichlasoma urophthalmus being one of the few to live under brackish conditions in the wild.Out of the four asian species, 3 of them (Etroplus maculatus, etroplus suratensis, and iranocichla hormuzensis) are brackish. The 4th is the exception, being etroplus canarensis. The first three species are all also hard water species, which South American cichlids are all soft water. Just thought I'd clarify that, because the Asian cichlids are generally not well known to most and are not often talked about.

And yes, there are only four species of asian cichlid. And one of them is from Iran, so more of Middle Eastern then actually Asian, not hard to guess which is the Iranian species though. The other three are all found in southern India and/or Sri Lanka

 

[Aquaenthused]

And you people want to tell me you're not using online research materials, only personal experience or first hand knowledge to quote all of that to cut me down cuz I'm a true realist so I do tend to generalize 'westies' , riverine and other Congo riverine cichlids with NW cichlids because they are by far better off with American cichlids than rift lake cichlids. I've also come to know from personal experience rescuing and rehoming a Taiwan reef hap that they can be turned salt but they won't thrive and it's not a good idea to change them back quickly- I didn't know he or she was full salt and it almost died in acclimation.

Where do I ever suggest anything to a beginner? I usually start off saying I don't suggest anything to aquarium hobbyists.

It's hilarious to me to think about the effort you went through just to nit pick at ME, not help the OP, because I said a jewel cichlid would do fine with American cichlids!! And I'm the one being labeled ignorant, haha

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[Aquaenthused]

I'd also like to point out that the Asian species, which consist of only 4 species spread across 2 genera, are generally fresh to brackish water fish. Very few North, South, or Central American cichlid species ever live in brackish water, with the Mayan cichlid, cichlasoma urophthalmus being one of the few to live under brackish conditions in the wild.Out of the four asian species, 3 of them (Etroplus maculatus, etroplus suratensis, and iranocichla hormuzensis) are brackish. The 4th is the exception, being etroplus canarensis. The first three species are all also hard water species, which South American cichlids are all soft water. Just thought I'd clarify that, because the Asian cichlids are generally not well known to most and are not often talked about.

And yes, there are only four species of asian cichlid. And one of them is from Iran, so more of Middle Eastern then actually Asian, not hard to guess which is the Iranian species though. The other three are all found in southern India and/or Sri Lanka

Oh, and I couldn't have guessed on the Asian cichlids that 'iranocichlae' is Iranian, and so that you know, the middle east is part of Asia

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[Freakgecko91]

Cause you're being extremely ignorant. Using online sources is fine, but someone reads a single source as fact, and has absolutely no experience to back that up, then it's wrong. And most of the info I listed was from prior knowledge/experience.

Why on earth would you ever put a Malawain hap through that?! Of course it's not going to thrive, it's a FRESHWATER LAKE. And I said nothing about any of the rift lakes. I simply said that most of the Asian, which you claimed to be "NW", are brackish fish and that the would not do well with most "NW" cichlids, as most North, South, and Central American cichlids ARE NOT brackish, hell, practically all of them are not brackish!

And anything you suggest on here, will be read by a beginner/novice keeper at one point or another. It's inevitable. And they won't always read the entire thread. They'll see your "advice" out of context and try it themself. So you are addressing beginners. It's much easier to advise the PROPER thing to do, than to advise the "Well it can be done" type of things.

 

[Freakgecko91]

Oh, and I couldn't have guessed on the Asian cichlids that 'iranocichlae' is Iranian, and so that you know, the middle east is part of Asia

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And when discussing fish, I will list the Middle East as a separate region from Asia, just like I will list Central America as separate from North America. Of course I know it's technically in Asia, but when discussing fish, using the most specific terms possible is always best.

Your sarcasm only shows your weakness. Either give hard facts to support your ideas, or admit you were mistaken and life goes on. Sarcasm like that is not a needed argument, it does nothing.

 

[Aquaenthused]

Well aren't you special calling a person ignorant because in their own experiences one specific type of fish, which idk what's wrong with people's keeper skills that they can't keep an ebjd alive past 3 inches, I've never lost one in all the rescues I've done. There was only as much sarcasm put into that comment as was laid on me because my history of rescuing and rehoming has given me this impression...

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