Denison Barbs Swimming on Bottom

[CleverBs]

Alright last question for me today. Looking for some info on Denison Barbs. I have 7x that are fully grown. Everything I read online says they should stay on the top or middle of the tank however mine are ALWAYS swimming on the very bottom just above the substrate. I have tried things like adding driftwood on the bottom to make them swim up higher but they just swim over it and back down. They have been in the tank over a year and have always swam on the bottom. The issue now is I have a majority of my fish as bottom dwellers with them being on the bottom as well. I would like them to move up higher. I know this question is random and also a head scratcher of what could possibly be done about this. Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue and changed it.

Tank 220g 72x24x30. Lit with dim light LED. No plants. Driftwood

 

[ZxC]

I've kept denisons a couple of times and they also always swam in the bottom third of the water column constantly. I think that's just what they do and there isn't a way to make them stop...

 

[CleverBs]

I've kept denisons a couple of times and they also always swam in the bottom third of the water column constantly. I think that's just what they do and there isn't a way to make them stop...

I figured as much but I dont understand why every fish profile says mid/top

 

[coralbandit]

In nature predation for fish is either in the water with them or above the surface..
I am sure in the wild 2' below the surface is not the bottom.
My 13 roselines [8 @5 years +] spend a lot of time near the bottom.
My tank is laced with driftwood and I run a gyre for them .They swim where they can.
Also being omnivores they are constant eaters unlike predator fish that eat every couple days.If there is not algae for them to pick on the glass or objects then they start to search the bottom for food. They sure don't seem to be effected by company on the bottom with them..They hang right with my clown loaches.

 

[kashif314]

Mine always stay near bottom as well.

 

[CleverBs]

In nature predation for fish is either in the water with them or above the surface..
I am sure in the wild 2' below the surface is not the bottom.
My 13 roselines [8 @5 years +] spend a lot of time near the bottom.
My tank is laced with driftwood and I run a gyre for them .They swim where they can.
Also being omnivores they are constant eaters unlike predator fish that eat every couple days.If there is not algae for them to pick on the glass or objects then they start to search the bottom for food. They sure don't seem to be effected by company on the bottom with them..They hang right with my clown loaches.

thats a good thought and I didnt think about that much. They do eat any chance they get and my tank never has any algae at all in it. Just because of low lighting and water conditions.