Fish always hiding

Clownfishy · May 28, 2021

I have a 6 line wrasse, yellow tang, blue tang, Percula clownfish and 2 Azure damsels and apart from the tangs cruising around the tank, all the other fish mostly hide. As soon as I approach the tank, the tangs dive for cover as well. I guess I need some dither fish but has anyone else experienced this where the fish hide most of the time? I purposely created a lot of places for the fish to hide but maybe this was a bad idea! The tank is not in a high traffic area so they are not being scared because of noise or people walking past the tank often. I wonder if I need some more dither fish but when I see other people standing by their tanks, their fish seem to come begging for food whereas mine dive for cover!

Dave1993 · May 28, 2021

my fish do the same i just observe them from a distance going to order a few PJ cardinals see if that will fix it

chadfish · May 28, 2021

Dave1993 said:
my fish do the same i just observe them from a distance going to order a few PJ cardinals see if that will fix it

My PJ Cardinals hide all the time - I was expecting them to be front and center, but no

chadfish · May 28, 2021

Clownfishy said:
I have a 6 line wrasse, yellow tang, blue tang, Percula clownfish and 2 Azure damsels and apart from the tangs cruising around the tank, all the other fish mostly hide. As soon as I approach the tank, the tangs dive for cover as well. I guess I need some dither fish but has anyone else experienced this where the fish hide most of the time? I purposely created a lot of places for the fish to hide but maybe this was a bad idea! The tank is not in a high traffic area so they are not being scared because of noise or people walking past the tank often. I wonder if I need some more dither fish but when I see other people standing by their tanks, their fish seem to come begging for food whereas mine dive for cover!

Might it have to do with the flow in the tank? My fish sometime hide more when the flow is higher. Maybe try turning off the powerheads for an hour and see if that brings them out, then try to figure out how to adjust your flow so they enjoy it?

schuby · May 28, 2021

I'd like to see a pic of your tank to understand your idea of many places to hide.

To acclimate your fish to you, I'd recommend going up to the tank several times a day and then standing and looking around for 5-15 minutes each time. Avoid sudden movements but do move around. The fish will get used to you being there and moving or standing. I completely believe that fish recognize us. When strangers come over, my fish hide.

Personally, I don't want my fish swarming together, expecting food, every time I approach the tank (I think this happens when every time you approach, you feed them). I'd never be able to watch them graze and just be fish. I only feed my fish once a day around the same time, 7pm. Other than that, they know their not getting fed and mostly ignore me. Fish live to eat, IME.