Animal Behavior Change

[JSB]

OK, my fish chromis, clowns, anthias, scopes, goby, and 6-line over the last year have, with the exception of the anthias, somewhat reclusive. I mean they are out and about, but not as active and out front as other tanks and fish I have had in the past.

Recently (the last month), I made two significant changes in routine, and one minor stock change. Due to some whiny LPS, I reduced the flow from 50x to about 30x. Also, to combat nitrates, I cut my feeding back from all-you-can-eat buffet, to sensible meals. Lastly, about a week ago, I pulled a chromis out that the other chromis were doing their best to beat down. He had been cowering in a hole for a couple of months. (He was moved to my q-tank to fatten back up.)

What I have begun to notice more and more is that the fish are back out front again. I can count noses at any moment and generally get a full count. Do you think one, two, all, or none of my changes precipitated the new fish behavior? There is no real aggression except the chromis-on-chromis that I mentioned.

I do not intend to take any action, but was wondering what might have caused it.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Are they begging?

 

[JSB]

Well, you would think. They have that same "I'm starving!" look that my overweight beagle has. However, as I can view them from afar, I see they are out whether or not I am in the room, and even after they have just eaten. I will admit that they all flock to the top front when I walk anywhere near. i can hear them whispering, "Hey, here comes that fat man again. Maybe he has snacks!"

 

[Tomoko Schum]

All quiet on the western front... War's over.

My fish are also out and about now instead of hiding. In my case, I simply started feeding with a turkey baster again instead of using an automatic feeder. Before I put the auto feeder in service, my fish hid all the time and people thought I don't have any fish. I don't know why they decided to change, but I am happy that they are out swimming in the front.

On the other hand, my fresh water fishes all hide in the live plants no matter what I do

 

[JSB]

I love a literary reference. Yeah, maybe it is all quiet at the front. A combination of factors may just make it a more comfortable place for all. However, I will be moving some of my lps to my low action office tank and bumping my cube back up to 40x. We will see how that plays out.