Skiddish fish?

[Herotilapia_Multispinosa]

I've had these fish for 8+ months now and when I woke up this morning I heard a bunch of splashing and gravel moving around so I thought someone was diging and someone nipped them no big deal. Then after I ate breakfast I came back and turned the light on and all of them freaked out. The rainbow cichlids showed thier bar like pattern that means thier stressed so I turned the light off and put a little food in just to ease the tension. So after I let them calm down I come back they absolutly go ballasitic my severum just about kills himself jumping and swimming around erraticly. My tank is positioned so they watch a hall way that people go down every now and then. Probobly 5-10 people a day. Any suggustions are welcome.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

What size tank? What is your tank stocked with?

 

[HUKIT]

I see that behavior in my Africans from time to time but never with the SA/CA fish, all the water parameters in check? The SA fish seem to be alot more sensative to nitrates than their cousins on the other side of the pond.