Fish won't come out and play

[shawmutt]

My cardinal tetras are really frustrating me. I really want to be able to see them, but they never come out! Now that I moved my root up and gave them more hiding spaces, I cannot see them at all. I thought if I made them feel more secure they would come out, but all my attempts just make me see less and less of them. Is it a stupid idea to reduce the number of hiding spaces? Are there any fish I can put in there, like blue rams or even a few more cories, that will make them come out? Should I just buy the biggest angelfish I can find and throw him in the tank (joking). It's just really terrible that I have this awesome set up and everytime I show someone they're like "Where's the fish?" They barely even come out to eat because they don't have to, they can just hide behind the root. Any ideas would be appreciated! If you need to see my tank or have a question about my setup just check my profile and gallery.

 

[Zic]

I have a Dwarf African Frog that always hid in a castle decoration I have in my tank. I bought a Striped Ralphael catfish and he took over the castle. Now I see my frog and not the catfish! Maybe if you got a bottom feeder, like a loach, catfish or pleco, they would 'claim' the root hiding space and you'll get to see your tetras.

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

They would probably feel more comfertable in larger numbers too, thats all i can really tell you.

 

[lmw80]

I had the same problem with my neon tetras. I gave them plenty of hiding spaces, but then I could never see them. So what I did was I rearranged the plants so that they weren't in the middle of the tank and also so that there were less dense and there were spaces in the middle that I could see through the glass. That way they could still hide, but I could spy on them as well!

I also agree with Conan - tetras of all varieties feel more comfortable in large groups.

 

[shawmutt]

I have 9 cardinals, and I was looking to get different fish, but maybe I should scratch that idea and stick to cardinals. I had kept on buying more cardinals until I had twelve (3 died early on ) but they are still really jumpy. Sigh...guess I just need another tank

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Maybe they just need someone to set an example. The comets in my pond used to hide all of the time. I bought a larger one, 7", who would swim in the open. Eventually they would just sit around in the open with him. After he recently died, they all went back into hiding.

 

[Allivymar]

Heh Roger, kinda sounds like the penguins I heard about a few months ago. They brought 6 new penguins into the flock who convinced the others to go on a "mock" migration: http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s765279.htm

 

[TankGirl]

I will tell you my cardinal story: I have a dwarf gourami in a 10-gal and got 6 cardinals to go with him, because their colors are awesome. Like you, I never saw them at all. They hardly came out to eat. I really believe they were frightened of the gourami, because I finally got wise and removed them and put them in my 55-gal angel tank (that was the only place they could go, but don't blast me because the angels were really tiny at the time) and once they were in there, they started to caper about and school through the current of the spray bar, and basically have a great time. They are very happy in there to this day, 6 months later.

 

[Jack]

I know it sounds crazy but fish often need to get used to you. I've had fish that would come out when I was in front of the tank, and hide when others were in front of the tank. I even had a fish (a blue-spot sharpnosed puffer, that liked to get petted.

Get a chair or something to sit on, and sit several feet away from the tank. Read, watch TV or whatever. Check on the tank every now and then. Over time (more than one day), you'll likely notice that the fish will come out more. Do the same after feeding. The fish will likely show themselves more if you are away from the tank.

Remember, fish are prey animals. They don't know that you aren't a threat. Over time, they should get more and more bold. Give it a try.

 

[Bearfan]

My rainbows use to be skiddish, now they know I am the guy with the food and they come to the front every time I come near the tank.

 

[shawmutt]

I try to sit in front of my tank for at least a half-hour a day, except on Thursday--that's my maintence day and I usually spend an hour or so. They just don't like me . I'm almost ready to get a 10 gallon set up and put them in there so I can use my 30 gallon for something else. (I just found out my tank's a 30 gallon, not a 29 gallon 36x12x16...learn something new every day).