[bcyra]

I have 17 yellow labs and 1 pleco in my 77 gallon and whenever I approach the tank they always go and hide. They come out after I stand there for a while but is this normal?

 

[GTZ]

Fairly normal for the most part. How long have they been in the tank?
I tend to feed at the same times daily, so when I go to feed in the morning, they'll come to the glass. Walk over an hour later, and they head for the hills. Go over later in the day and they come back to the glass.

 

[Trench]

*** been playing with this over the years and a number of things seem to play a factor in this with the fish.
1. size of tank and amount of fish in the tank (*** noted small amount of fish in a smaller tank seem to feel unsafe)
2. type of light used in the tank (seems bright unnateral light can cause fish to sittish)
3. amount of food given in one day, fish tend to hide more with a full belly vs when they are hungry they tend to be less sittish ( *** also linked this to agression , the more they are feed the more time they spend chasing, fighting and guarding teritory, rather than looking for food)

*** noticed anyone of these factors can lead to the sittish trends , these are just my own personal observations. Im sure there are other factors that can cause this but these are my top three. hope this helps bro.

 

[Trench]

one other thing to note certain species tend to be more sittish in my tanks than others. in my 125 Salosi are the least skittish , they will come nibble on my hands when i mess with my sump and are very curious with anything i do in my tank, when i do water changes they swim in the stream of new water as i poor it in. Now my Zebra Chilumbas tend to be the most skittish and hide when im in the tank and are usally the last to come out and eat.

Now i havnt keep yellow labs since like 1994-95 and i dont remeber much about them so maybe others on here have a better opion on this species :fish:

 

[dielikemoviestars]

I've always found that juvies are both the most curious and the most skittish - they'll sit and stare at you for hours once they're comfortable, but it can take 5-10 minutes for that to happen. My adults didn't even care that I was around. If I reached for the top of the tank, well, then they knew it was time for food and went ballistic.

 

[iplaywithemotions]

I've been playing with this over the years and a number of things seem to play a factor in this with the fish.
1. size of tank and amount of fish in the tank (I've noted small amount of fish in a smaller tank seem to feel unsafe)
2. type of light used in the tank (seems bright unnateral light can cause fish to sittish)
3. amount of food given in one day, fish tend to hide more with a full belly vs when they are hungry they tend to be less sittish ( I've also linked this to agression , the more they are feed the more time they spend chasing, fighting and guarding teritory, rather than looking for food)

I've noticed anyone of these factors can lead to the sittish trends , these are just my own personal observations. Im sure there are other factors that can cause this but these are my top three. hope this helps bro.

Those have been my exact observations, as well! :thumb:

 

[jordanroda]

In all my 40 years of keeping all kinds of Cichlids!
I never had a Skittish fish, they always come to the tank to greet me :fish:
Only Pirhanas are chickens :lol:

 

[bcyra]

Thanks for the replies

 

[chris350]

my soulosi and acei always greet me.. like they never ate in there lives before.. .. they always come to the glass when they see movement...

 

[wilsonj88]

*** had my 6 inch red empress male for over a month now. he's pretty skittish. hides when i walk up tot he tank but if i sit still for a while he finally gets the nerve to come out and say hi lol

 

[hollyfish2000]

My peacocks are very excited to see me and even swim near my hand if I'm messing with the tank. But if anyone else comes by -- even a house sitter assigned to feed them -- they hide! They're all "mama's boys," I guess!!

 

[rarefaction]

They're all "mama's boys," I guess!!

I've observed some of this as well with my mbuna. They do seem to know the difference between their keeper and strangers. They also remember the net for a very long time. I've had some fry survive in the main tank that have no fear of the net since they have never been caught. But the females that have been moved out to recover from motherhood see that net coming from across the room and hide. Very impressive stuff for such little tiny brains.

 

[The Novice]

I have only had Yellow Labs for two months, and have enjoyed photographing them. At first, they were quite content to cruise about in the open when I approached the tank. However, after two days of flash photography, they now tend to hide, unless its feeding time.

 

[hollyfish2000]

I think you're right about 'remembering the net.' My peacocks haven't seen a net since they went into that tank a year ago and all my hand does is feed them, so they don't have fear of me.

 

[malawirish]

I had this problem with my Labs a while back. My plan for ages was to have a Labs and Demasoni tank with black background, black sand and black rocks.
I finally got this all together about a year ago, but I had the Labs in there for a few weeks before I introduced the Demasoni.

The Labs were very skittish when someone entered the room but the new Demasoni brought them out of their shell and within 24hrs they had completely changed. Now all Labs & Dems come to greet me anytime I enter the room.

Oh yea they dont trust strangers either and they all know exactly what a net is for too!

 

[eternal10]

In all my 40 years of keeping all kinds of Cichlids!
I never had a Skittish fish, they always come to the tank to greet me :fish:
Only Pirhanas are chickens :lol:

:roll: