Does “Plenty of places to hide” lead to ‘Plenty of hiding fish??’ :(

[JumboShrimp]

Read an article or watch a video about just about any fish and you will invariably read the advice, “Be sure to give this type of fish plenty of places to hide.” OK. So now I have a lot of rock-work in a 6’ tank, and I also have a lot of “hiding” fish.

When I watch videos of other people’s tanks, their fish look just fine ‘without’ plenty of places to hide. In fact, I just watched a video today that basically said do NOT provide too many caves and all— or your fish will find a new hobby— hiding! I have a Rusty Angel and a Keyhole Angel (healthy— have had each about 9 months), and they mostly stay in the rock-work unless eating. “Boring!” (Recently someone told me that in the wild these fish mostly stay in the reef unless feeding, so... ?)

Bottom line: Do I need to close up my caves to see my fish more?

 

[Old Fritz]

I think it has a lot more to do with the comfort of the fish. Its like with firefish the first time you put them in a tank you literally won't see them for a week until they work their way out and get comfortable. If the fish feels unsafe or unsecure in your tank it will probably hide. This could be because of other tank mates or a variety of other factors. A wild caught fish will probably be stressed more in a tank since they aren't used to being 1) in a tank 2) isn't used to being around people

 

[Kyl]

Some fish (I have zero experience with angels) will stay reclusive unless they see others out and about, due to the fact they tend to end up as food if there's no one else around on the reef. I know @eatbreakfast has a lot of experience with a lot of different fish, maybe can offer some advice.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Different species have different degrees of boldness.

Offering plenty of hiding spots help most fish to feel more comfortable, and usually translates to their being more outgoing because it is easiser to get back to cover.

Dither fish also help pull fish out in the open. When there aren't any other fish out this often signals danger, such as a predator nearby, in the wild. So a few outgoing fish can help in this regard.

 

[WVNed]

Mine don't hide unless I spook them. They do hide at night time or if they are stressed. Like I am mucking around in the tank.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Thank you all — I am appreciating all the perspectives.

 

[WVNed]

fish are out

walks by waving arms and they hide

Walk away
45 seconds later

back to doing fish stuff

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

Fish definitely hide when they sense something abnormal. I try to toss in a few pellets whenever I'm around, that way they associate humans with food. For me it works too well. Whenever my fish see me they come up near the front expecting to be fed.

 

[Kevin Duprey]

Fish definitely hide when they sense something abnormal. I try to toss in a few pellets whenever I'm around, that way they associate humans with food. For me it works to well. Whenever my fish see me they come up near the front expecting to be fed.

This is the behavior of my fish as well, even if it's only been 10 minutes since their last meal...

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

I think it does help to have a fair number of fish. Also it helps to have some gregarious types that are never spooked, even when I am messing with the tank. For me that includes my clowns and cleaner wrasse.

 

[Kevin Duprey]

I think it does help to have a fair number of fish. Also it helps to have some gregarious types that are never spooked, even when I am messing with the tank. For me that includes my clowns and cleaner wrasse.

Hah, great point about the clowns, though I'm not sure I'd label mine as gregarious. My female lightning maroon certainly doesn't get spooked when I clean or otherwise put my hands in the tank. Instead she goes into attack mode. If she gets much bigger, she might start drawing blood.

But yes, in general, having a larger number of fish that typically swim in the open encourages that behavior in most of the rest. Grazers like tangs and hunters like many wrasses also fit in that category.

 

[jordan9095]

mine have nowhere to hide. they say it increases stress

 

[Eva Rose]

I spent a lot of time planning caves/hiding places in my tank. My fish spend most of the time cruising, picking rock etc. Even my jawfish pops out to look around from about 4 to 6 different look-out holes when he isn’t rearranging his burrow.

When I added my group of dwarf angels I added another cave with at least 4 hiding spots. Fish like the security of having caves available. It cuts down on aggression too, because they don’t have to fight over sleeping territory.

More rock work also mimics the ocean, so there is more surface to explore & graze.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Gorgeous fish, @Eva Rose !

 

[Eva Rose]

Gorgeous fish, @Eva Rose !

Thank you! As @eatbreakfast suggested to you, dither fish will really draw your fish out in the open. With dither fish you will notice your fish graze more, swim in a more relaxed pattern and explore different areas in your tank. After you add dither fish, if your angels eat nori off a clip, try adding a 2nd nori clip on other side of the tank. It can help encourage grazing throughout the tank.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I've been thinking about how we used to provide lots of crevices and caves. I sometimes wonder if the minimalist trend for rockwork is a good one or if it's detrimental to our fish.

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

I've been thinking about how we used to provide lots of crevices and caves. I sometimes wonder if the minimalist trend for rockwork is a good one or if it's detrimental to our fish.

I think so. I still have an old school reef with lots of rock work providing lots of hiding places. I have over a dozen fish and when something spooks them, they all completely disappear, and it looks as if there are no fish. But I have no fish losses, so they must be happy/healthy

 

[MichaelReefer]

I dont think it pushes them to hide. I have plenty of "Hiding" fish, and they really only hide at night when they're sleeping or when I am doing tank maintenance...