# Hiding Fish



## Richard Dowling (30 Nov 2014)

Hi all,  I've asked this question before but with changes to my tank I feel it needs asking again. I used to have an iwagumi and my fish always used to hide under the main stone and never venture out. I bought a new shoal of different fish who swam in open water but soon started hiding away aswell. Last time I queried this I was advised that the problem was likely to be due to the iwagumi being exposed and causing my fish to hide because there was no plant cover. I decided to rescape my tank and now have a very sheltered scape with wood and plants. And to my frustration the fish don't swim. They live their entire life hiding under my ferns. My tank looks empty!! What is causing this?

It's an open top tank, pressurised co2 and ferts. Spray bar with light surface agitation and generally a dimly lit room mainly illuminated by the tank.

Any further ideas?


----------



## tim (30 Nov 2014)

Ime fish can be shy/skittish if your co2 is a little on the high side what type of fish are they ?


----------



## Michael W (30 Nov 2014)

I've no practical experience with CO2 so I can't comment on that aspect. However, most often shoaling fish shoal simply due to the idea of safety in numbers, quite often in the aquarium if you lack a large fish or aggressive fish, shoaling fish such as tetras will often swim freely around the aquarium, ditching the shoaling behaviour.

Perhaps another theory is that if you do have a large or aggressive fish and you provide enough shelter, the shoaling fish may find it much more safe staying in the vegetation rather than in the open in a shoal.


----------



## sparkyweasel (30 Nov 2014)

Any photos of the new scape?


----------



## Lindy (1 Dec 2014)

I agree with Tim, sounds like your co2 might be causing it. The other thing is if the tank is in a quiet area of the house fish get more sensitive to outside stimulus such as movement and noise. When I kept my puffers in our busy kitchen they were bomb proof and always out. I moved them to the lounge and they seemed to revert to wild behaviour. If you sit quietly for a while do they come out at all? If not I would suggest turning down co2 but might be worth sitting for a while to see if they come out when they think no one is there.


----------



## Zebra Fish (1 Dec 2014)

alternatively if its the photo of the tank as your picture it could be that theres no top cover, skittish fish are often comforted by cover so theyre hiding in the most covered area available to them. maybe look at getting some floating plants for the top of your tank and see if that makes a difference to the fishes behaviour. i know i haven't explained it very well but it can make a big difference in behaviour and encourage them to come out of their hiding place


----------



## Richard Dowling (1 Dec 2014)

tim said:


> Ime fish can be shy/skittish if your co2 is a little on the high side what type of fish are they ?



CO2 is a possibility, but my CO2 is currently at its lowest flow without compromising the plants with algae. I cant run it any lower and dont see how other people get away with higher CO2 without getting the same issue?!? Frustrating!



Michael W said:


> Perhaps another theory is that if you do have a large or aggressive fish and you provide enough shelter, the shoaling fish may find it much more safe staying in the vegetation rather than in the open in a shoal.



I dont have any large fish. I just have around 10 Cardinal Tetras and 10 Ember Tetras...and loads of Cherry Shrimp



ldcgroomer said:


> see if they come out when they think no one is there.



Unfortunately, they stay hidden regardless of whether I am in the room or not and whether the lights are on in the room or the TV etc etc. The only time they venture a few centimeters out of the plants is when the lights are off in the morning and sometimes during the ramp down period (where my LED lights reduce intensity over the course of half an hour until they eventually turn off)



Zebra Fish said:


> look at getting some floating plants for the top of your tank and see if that makes a difference



I may have to try that, but I worry about reducing light to the plants and again effecting their health. It seems I cant win the battle over plant health and fish health.


He are the photos. This week I removed the stem plants from the back and replaced with valis, the plants used to be full height of the water so this issue isn't related to my change of plants


----------



## Zebra Fish (1 Dec 2014)

You can section off where floating plants cover up in a tank with two suction cups and some sewing thread/fishing line this way your fish might get more confidant and relax more. If this proves to help you can look at slowly week by week removing whatever you put in. The long leaves of the valis may add some shelter when they get long enough to cove the surface, my fish certainly loved it despite not being skittish 

Alternatively boarders are meant to help skittish fish although I've yet to try this

How long have you owned them like ?? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## kirk (2 Dec 2014)

Ours hide too,well until dinner time anyway.


----------



## dw1305 (2 Dec 2014)

Hi all, 
You won't find small fish staying out in the open in the water column, unless they have nowhere else to go.  

These are stressed fish. If you left them in the tank they would disappear down into the cover.


 

In your tank even with some taller plants at the rear of the tank If you don't have a dark tank backing, tannin stained water or floating plants, you still have long lines of sight in at least 3 directions.  Exposure to potential predators is extremely stressful for the fish.

As you add cover the fish begin to show more of their natural behaviour, and even fish that shoal will break into a loose aggregation as they search through the vegetation, display to each other etc. 

cheers Darrel


----------



## Andy D (2 Dec 2014)

I can't add anything but to say I absolutely agree with Darrel. 

A lot of aquascapes look stunning but are not always an ideal home for the fish they house.


----------



## flygja (3 Dec 2014)

Richard Dowling said:


> The only time they venture a few centimeters out of the plants is when the lights are off in the morning and sometimes during the ramp down period (where my LED lights reduce intensity over the course of half an hour until they eventually turn off)



This should be a clue, the lights may be too bright and the fish are simply looking for shade. Especially LEDs are really bright and glaring. Maybe you can have a slower ramp time but longer lights on time so your plants aren't affected too much.


----------

