Shyness...

[JasonC]

Hi,

So another question involving the A. baenschi I have been working with. I have noticed that they are being extremely shy. The 10 are in a 10gal tank with Turface, and about 6 or 7 pots, and a few annubias plants I had no room for anywhere else. I know this is not ideal tank structure for them, but I am still staging up a more permanent home for a pair or two that develop. Basically, even during feeding, they prefer to be tightly tucked into the backs of the flower pots, and those that dont get a pot huddle together underneath the sponge on my sponge filter. Noticing this getting bad enough that I would have to drop food and leave the room to get them to eat, i added a layer of oak leaves to the tank. They seem much more apt to move around now, but still remain completely concealed under the leaves.

Is there anything I can do to convince them to come out of hiding, or is this normal behavior for juvies/adolescents that they will hopefully grow out of. As I stated, I am working on staging up a new tank for a few of them... will be 20L with sand substrate, oak leaves and branches, along with a few annubais, java ferns/moss. Is getting this up the real answer, or is there more I can do in the mean time to ease their anxiety in the 10 gal?

thanks!

 

[Mike Wise]

They need A LOT more hiding places than you provide them now. In the wild this is a fish that lives in leaf litter. They are rarely far from a dark hiding place. I'd suggest filling the bottom of the tank with a layer of plants/leaves and floating plants on the surface. Remember, they are prey not only for larger fish, but for birds, too.

 

[JasonC]

Re the leaves, that was my first instinct when I realized just how shy they had become. The layer of Leaf litter (and its about 3-4" very loose packed) has definitely helped the situation, but I was hoping that there would be more I could do to tide them over til I got their new home complete. An unfortunate delay due to breaking their future tank is what is holding up the process right now... good thing Petco is doing their $1 per gallon sale again right now...