FISH SEEM MORE SKITTISH/HIDING

Randy1153 · Nov 11, 2019

gregzz4 said:
Do you have kids?
Many small children like to bang on tanks

great question, we have no children. very annoying to be honest. i spend so much time, money, love, money, money, money on them. i really want to hit the tank with a bat to be honest.

Greg P · Nov 11, 2019

Randy1153 said:
i really want to hit the tank with a bat to be honest.

Don't blame ya

Maybe you could try sitting in front of the tank with a book or other form of hands-on entertainment. Just glance at them once in awhile but not for too long each time.
They'll eventually get used to you being around.

Ours will sometimes scoot away when we walk by but if we crouch down for a closer look they'll come right up to us at eye level.
And if they're hungry, they'll start waggling at me even if I'm 20 feet away !!

Randy1153 · Nov 12, 2019

gregzz4 said:
Don't blame ya

Maybe you could try sitting in front of the tank with a book or other form of hands-on entertainment. Just glance at them once in awhile but not for too long each time.
They'll eventually get used to you being around.

Ours will sometimes scoot away when we walk by but if we crouch down for a closer look they'll come right up to us at eye level.
And if they're hungry, they'll start waggling at me even if I'm 20 feet away !!

I was thinking about doing this, are you speaking out of experience? Did you try this?

Greg P · Nov 12, 2019

Yes and yes

I've always done it with fish in QT and it calms them down very well. I sit at my desk in the sump room with my back to the fish and turn to look at them when I remember to. A day or 2 of 1-2 hour seatings and they are happy to see me come in the room.

I had all our fish in a holding tank by the front door for 3 months while I rebuilt our system. We only passed by them going through the front door. They became quite skittish.
When I put them back in the DT I sat with them every day for about an hour. Took about 3 days and they were back to normal.
I also did no maintenance near 'sitting' time. Just sit and hang out then leave.
Whenever I'd feed I'd walk up to the tank, gently tap on the canopy and then say 'dinner time!'

Randy1153 · Nov 12, 2019

gregzz4 said:
Yes and yes
I've always done it with fish in QT and it calms them down very well. I sit at my desk in the sump room with my back to the fish and turn to look at them when I remember to. A day or 2 of 1-2 hour seatings and they are happy to see me come in the room.

I had all our fish in a holding tank by the front door for 3 months while I rebuilt our system. We only passed by them going through the front door. They became quite skittish.
When I put them back in the DT I sat with them every day for about an hour. Took about 3 days and they were back to normal.
I also did no maintenance near 'sitting' time. Just sit and hang out then leave.
Whenever I'd feed I'd walk up to the tank, gently tap on the canopy and then say 'dinner time!'

Okay, seems reasonable. So your saying I should sit with my back towards the tank, then every once in a while glance back at them? I really appreciate your time and help! So maintenance is done at a completely different time? When sitting, just sit, no hands in tank, nothing, correct?

vetteguy53081 · Nov 12, 2019

Sounds like response to new lighting. I just hung two more orphek lights this morning and at feeding tonight they all took off. They can SEE ME now .... LOL

Randy1153 · Nov 12, 2019

vetteguy53081 said:
Sounds like response to new lighting. I just hung two more orphek lights this morning and at feeding tonight they all took off. They can SEE ME now .... LOL

See normally I would agree with you, but I changed the lights on Thursday, this has been going on for 30-60 days now, can't quite figure out why. On a side note, you touched on something, would our new Kessil lights be spooking them a bit? Do they need acclimation time to get used to them? It's a completely different lighting system we had previously. I mean the water is shimmering like mad, I will say tank looks great with them on. Thank you so much for your time and help!

vetteguy53081 · Nov 12, 2019

Acclimation is a must for both fish and coral. High traffic area also contributes to this behavior

Randy1153 · Nov 12, 2019

vetteguy53081 said:
Acclimation is a must for both fish and coral. High traffic area also contributes to this behavior

Got it! You think and I'm only speaking regarding the new lights, that in a couple of days they may get used to the new lights?

Randy1153 · Nov 12, 2019

vetteguy53081 said:
Acclimation is a must for both fish and coral. High traffic area also contributes to this behavior

On a side note, do you own a Corvette? Reason I ask is, I do own a 2017 Grand Sport.

Greg P · Nov 12, 2019

I didn't touch on your lights as you stated this has been going on for a couple months or so.

Sitting with my back to them is just what happens in my sump room. But I do take time to stare at them from a distance after they get used to me. This is just for new fish.

In your situation, sit facing them reading something and make eye contact once in awhile for a few seconds or so. Then go back to reading. If you stare at them too long you may notice them hiding. You'll see what I mean when you avert your eyes. They'll come out to look you over but go back to hiding when you make direct eye contact.

Randy1153 · Nov 12, 2019

gregzz4 said:
I didn't touch on your lights as you stated this has been going on for a couple months or so.

Sitting with my back to them is just what happens in my sump room. But I do take time to stare at them from a distance after they get used to me. This is just for new fish.

In your situation, sit facing them reading something and make eye contact once in awhile for a few seconds or so. Then go back to reading. If you stare at them too long you may notice them hiding. You'll see what I mean when you avert your eyes. They'll come out to look you over but go back to hiding when you make direct eye contact.

Thank you so much for time and advise! I will take your advice and do what you suggested!

Greg P · Nov 12, 2019

You're welcome and thanks for appreciating it.
Good luck !! and report back

Randy1153 · Nov 12, 2019

gregzz4 said:
You're welcome and thanks for appreciating it.
Good luck !! and report back

Will do!!!!

vetteguy53081 · Nov 12, 2019

Randy1153 said:
On a side note, do you own a Corvette? Reason I ask is, I do own a 2017 Grand Sport.

Did. Sold it in July as I barely used it and bough a new SUV and was not letting either one sit outside with lack of garage space.
Was a 2003 carmine red anniversary.
Will be permanently in Florida in a couple of years and entertaining a new one.
Nice on the 2017!!

vetteguy53081 · Nov 12, 2019

Randy1153 said:
Got it! You think and I'm only speaking regarding the new lights, that in a couple of days they may get used to the new lights?

Yes. When i changed lighting on my cube tank, took about 5 weeks. Every so often, fish still dart off and this is after over a year

Randy1153 · Nov 12, 2019

vetteguy53081 said:
Did. Sold it in July as I barely used it and bough a new SUV and was not letting either one sit outside with lack of garage space.
Was a 2003 carmine red anniversary.
Will be permanently in Florida in a couple of years and entertaining a new one.
Nice on the 2017!!

Love it!!!!!!

Eva Rose · Nov 12, 2019

My fish did this - showing skittish behavior, hiding when a whitetail tang turned aggressive as it matured. Things were great for a year or 2. Then like your tank, the hiding & skittish behavior started. I had to observe from a distance to find out who was the culprit. Because once fish see you in their line of vision, they are fixated on “feed me”. If they are unaware of your presence you are more likely to find out if one of the fish has started bullying. I suspect this might be going on since you only changed your lighting recently.

Another possibility is if you are spending a lot of time doing maintenance, but less time feeding slowly. This has happened to my husband, if I am out of town. The fish start to associate him more with tank maintenance than with food. He tends to feed the fish quickly. He is careful to make sure all fish are eating, fish look good etc. But his movements/pace are much quicker than mine & it amps the fish up a bit. So basically everything that @gregzz4 stated I think helps. I try to train my fish to associate me with food & use cues. That way they tolerate maintenance etc.

Maybe try some special treats, like a clam on the half shell etc. for your angels & see how they act around each other. I like placing grazing feeders at opposite ends of my tank to keep my fish calmer/less competitive.
For angels/butterflies I use the Little Fishies Pouch Feeder & smash LRS Reef Frenzy against the mesh. It makes it easy for them to “pick”.
For tangs I put 2 nori clips at different areas of the tank.