Did I give them too many hiding places ? (fish not seen very often)

[Alan Silver]

Hello,

We have recently (ie last week) populated our new cichlid tank. It is a
220 litre tank and has a custom built background, complete with loads of
"caves". See http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/Mark3/ for more details of the
tank, background, caves, etc.

Anyway, the first fish went in last Tuesday (17th Feb), twelve assorted
cichlids of the "beginners" variety !! For a couple of days, they swam
around fairly visible, exploring the caves but not really using them too
much. On Thursday, I dropped a whole pile of Java Moss in the tank,
mainly to make it look nicer. My hope was that the moss would be able to
grow faster than the fish could eat it.

I don't know if there was any connection, but the fish hardly came out
after that. They seem to spend most of their time hiding under the rocks
and moss, or in the caves in the background. A few seem to have a
favourite cave, but often they all just pile into the two lowest ones
(back corner of the tank). Even when they are swimming around, as soon
as you go near the tank they all disappear.

So, did I provide too much cover for them ? Are they going to come out
more when they are more settled, or is it feeding time only ? I intend
to put more fish in as I was advised that this tank can house about
another twelve. Will this help ?

Any comments welcome.

--
Alan Silver
PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/

[Dan J. S.]

"Alan Silver" > wrote in message
...
> Hello,
>
> We have recently (ie last week) populated our new cichlid tank. It is a
> 220 litre tank and has a custom built background, complete with loads of
> "caves". See http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/Mark3/ for more details of the
> tank, background, caves, etc.
>
> Anyway, the first fish went in last Tuesday (17th Feb), twelve assorted
> cichlids of the "beginners" variety !! For a couple of days, they swam
> around fairly visible, exploring the caves but not really using them too
> much. On Thursday, I dropped a whole pile of Java Moss in the tank,
> mainly to make it look nicer. My hope was that the moss would be able to
> grow faster than the fish could eat it.
>
> I don't know if there was any connection, but the fish hardly came out
> after that. They seem to spend most of their time hiding under the rocks
> and moss, or in the caves in the background. A few seem to have a
> favourite cave, but often they all just pile into the two lowest ones
> (back corner of the tank). Even when they are swimming around, as soon
> as you go near the tank they all disappear.
>
> So, did I provide too much cover for them ? Are they going to come out
> more when they are more settled, or is it feeding time only ? I intend
> to put more fish in as I was advised that this tank can house about
> another twelve. Will this help ?
>
> Any comments welcome.

Alan,

That tank you built is FANTASTIC!!!! I love the background! also the
write-up! I have an acrylic tank, I only have two port holes, so I could
never put a background like that into it...

[Alan Silver]

In message >, Dan J. S.
> writes
>That tank you built is FANTASTIC!!!! I love the background! also the
>write-up! I have an acrylic tank, I only have two port holes, so I
>could never put a background like that into it...

<blush>
Thanx.
</blush>

Did you read the horror story that went with the background ? That gave
me a hard time.

I'm glad to report that the fish have been a lot more visible today.

--
Alan Silver
PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/

[Rick]

"Alan Silver" > wrote in message
...
> In message >, Dan J. S.
> > writes
> >That tank you built is FANTASTIC!!!! I love the background! also the
> >write-up! I have an acrylic tank, I only have two port holes, so I
> >could never put a background like that into it...
>
> <blush>
> Thanx.
> </blush>
>
> Did you read the horror story that went with the background ? That gave
> me a hard time.
>
> I'm glad to report that the fish have been a lot more visible today.
>
> --
> Alan Silver
> PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/


man I felt bad for ya when I read that story but you prevailed and it looks
great. If you have Mbunas in that tank then they will spend most of their
time hiding in the caves, that is just the nature of the fish. I have got
around this somewhat and what I did was get 6 P. saulosi juveniles. I put
them in a 10 g tank with no place to hide. Every day these little guys would
wait for dinner and it got to where they would get excited as soon as I
walked into the room When they were big enough I moved them into the larger
tank with my "hiding" Mbunas and they act like dither fish. Now all the fish
come out to see what the big commotion is when I walk in the room and my
little buddies the saulosi are making that possible.

Rick

[SkyCatcher®]

Alan,

Super stuff! I've being toying with the idea of making a background like
this & your wonderful description may just have given me the confidence to
proceed. One question (though perhaps many more to follow... what size were
the cichlids you stocked with - its difficult to get an idea from the
photos?

Rgs,

Sky.

ps Question 2 - Where did you get hold of the epoxy (B&Q)?

"Alan Silver" > wrote in message
...
> Hello,
>
> We have recently (ie last week) populated our new cichlid tank. It is a
> 220 litre tank and has a custom built background, complete with loads of
> "caves". See http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/Mark3/ for more details of the
> tank, background, caves, etc.
>
> Anyway, the first fish went in last Tuesday (17th Feb), twelve assorted
> cichlids of the "beginners" variety !! For a couple of days, they swam
> around fairly visible, exploring the caves but not really using them too
> much. On Thursday, I dropped a whole pile of Java Moss in the tank,
> mainly to make it look nicer. My hope was that the moss would be able to
> grow faster than the fish could eat it.
>
> I don't know if there was any connection, but the fish hardly came out
> after that. They seem to spend most of their time hiding under the rocks
> and moss, or in the caves in the background. A few seem to have a
> favourite cave, but often they all just pile into the two lowest ones
> (back corner of the tank). Even when they are swimming around, as soon
> as you go near the tank they all disappear.
>
> So, did I provide too much cover for them ? Are they going to come out
> more when they are more settled, or is it feeding time only ? I intend
> to put more fish in as I was advised that this tank can house about
> another twelve. Will this help ?
>
> Any comments welcome.
>
> --
> Alan Silver
> PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/


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[Alan Silver]

In message >, SkyCatcher®
> writes
>Super stuff! I've being toying with the idea of making a background
>like this & your wonderful description may just have given me the
>confidence to proceed. One question (though perhaps many more to
>follow... what size were the cichlids you stocked with - its difficult
>to get an idea from the photos?

Most of them were (still are !!) about 1 1/2" long. A couple were
bigger.

>ps Question 2 - Where did you get hold of the epoxy (B&Q)?

I got the first lot on-line, but then found a local supplier which was
more convenient and cheaper. I used the West Systems epoxy. If you are
in the UK, then contact Wessex Resins (01794 521111) and ask them for
your nearest supplier. You want the fast hardening version as it will
save you a lot of time.

HTH

--
Alan Silver
PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/

[Alan Silver]

In message >, SkyCatcher®
> writes
>Cheers - I'm in Northern Ireland so I'll give them a call. I'm sort of
>glad you said your fish were 1 1/2 long as this is the inly size I can
>get my hands on locally. Are you stocking to the old rule of thumb (6
>mbuna to the sq ft of floor space?

I am going on what my LFS (actually a local cichlid importer/breeder
rather than a normal LFS) told me. He reckoned that I could get about 24
fish in there. The chap in the LFS said the same as it happens.

This fits well with the rule you quoted. 24" cube tank gives 4 sq ft of
floor, which is 24 fish.

--
Alan Silver
PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/

[Alan Silver]

In message >, Rick
> writes
>man I felt bad for ya when I read that story but you prevailed and it
>looks great. If you have Mbunas in that tank then they will spend most
>of their time hiding in the caves, that is just the nature of the fish.
>I have got around this somewhat and what I did was get 6 P. saulosi
>juveniles. I put them in a 10 g tank with no place to hide. Every day
>these little guys would wait for dinner and it got to where they would
>get excited as soon as I walked into the room When they were big enough
>I moved them into the larger tank with my "hiding" Mbunas and they act
>like dither fish. Now all the fish come out to see what the big
>commotion is when I walk in the room and my little buddies the saulosi
>are making that possible.

The breeder who sold me the fish reckoned that I should see them more
when I get more fish in. At the moment there's only 11 (one died, sniff)
in a 220 litre tank. He reckons that with about 24fish, there will be
more activity.

I hope so, I can't do much about the caves now !! I thought about
blocking one or two off, but it's hard to see how I would do this
without making it look ugly.

--
Alan Silver
PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/

[Dee]

I've got 24 in a rio 180 (yellow lads & p. zebras mainly) in an ocean rock &
sand setup & they are always out front looking to see who is coming & if
they are going to get fed. So I think your lfs is probably right! Good luck!

Dee
"Alan Silver" > wrote in message
...
> In message >, Rick
> > writes
> >man I felt bad for ya when I read that story but you prevailed and it
> >looks great. If you have Mbunas in that tank then they will spend most
> >of their time hiding in the caves, that is just the nature of the fish.
> >I have got around this somewhat and what I did was get 6 P. saulosi
> >juveniles. I put them in a 10 g tank with no place to hide. Every day
> >these little guys would wait for dinner and it got to where they would
> >get excited as soon as I walked into the room When they were big enough
> >I moved them into the larger tank with my "hiding" Mbunas and they act
> >like dither fish. Now all the fish come out to see what the big
> >commotion is when I walk in the room and my little buddies the saulosi
> >are making that possible.
>
> The breeder who sold me the fish reckoned that I should see them more
> when I get more fish in. At the moment there's only 11 (one died, sniff)
> in a 220 litre tank. He reckons that with about 24fish, there will be
> more activity.
>
> I hope so, I can't do much about the caves now !! I thought about
> blocking one or two off, but it's hard to see how I would do this
> without making it look ugly.
>
> --
> Alan Silver
> PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/


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