My Cichlids Are Boring :(

[calversbuyuk]

For some reason my fsh are always hiding in te rocks and ibarely see them its boring, is there a reason for this can i makethem more livley?

 

[gundamcichlid]

What kind of cichlid? Any aggression from the tank mate?

Any picture?

Try to add a power head in the tank

 

[calversbuyuk]

What kind of cichlid? Any aggression from the tank mate?

Any picture?

Try to add a power head in the tank

To be honest i cant remember had these for a couple of months. have about 3 yellow labs and some other ill try get some photos.
BUt theres 1 n there thats slightly bigger that does try to chase them sometimes but thats about it.
whats a power head??
Heres the tank now -

and heres some of the fish before they were moved int this tank

Video -

 

[Moby-Krib]

Lord My First response removed. I saw Lego land and almost snaped.
I Was ready to decapitate you. Yet I see the deal now. I think

That was a horrible, sharp, dismal home.
African Cichlids rival Chimps in intelligence, DON'T neglect nor try to fool them.


They are being Mbuna by hiding in the rock , thank god you got them out of that plastic ill suited substrate world... It was horrid!!!
Made me actually sick to see those conditions... Sorry , these fish are special.
Developmental milestones in he Rift Lakes prelude most all other fish you will ever keep.
They are challenging yet rewarding as such.(Don't let this put you off as it is easy to provide the needs If you actually care to do so.)

Give them Time, trust me they will come around all on their own.. let them get acclimated.
Given you provide good water and proper surroundings.
they naturally live in and around the rock in large seemingly overstocked proximity ..
keeping them properly is an art!!
Tank now looks good, grats(top picture). It really does!!
Patience.
You may possibly need some direction though as the stocking is from the pictures ...some of the most aggressive of the species.. what else have you in there?
What are dimensions of tank, and stocking as YOU know it? If I may ask?
A few modifications may be in order here to get the active, healthy (and they are trust me ) stock you desire.

 

[basboi85]

Not quite a reply to you question but I love your first pic looks amazing. And how do you get you bubbles to go the all the way along your tank ?? ( giant airstone or do you have a air line with holes along it ???

 

[DrRob]

As Moby says, much improved. I've got nothing particular against plastic ornaments, wouldn't have them myself, but some people love them. Those edges though would eventually have been a problem.

You already have a powerhead, it's the large thing on the top right in your picture. They're also called wavemakers and such like.

Couple of comments that may help you. These fish are territorial and use the rockscape to define territory. Try upping the amount of rock with more caves and hiding places and, paradoxically they'll generally be on show a lot more.

The activity you often see in these tanks is also often the result of a slightly (deliberately) overstocked system from the point of view of territory. There's two ways to keep these, in small groups so there are no issues, or in large groups so that aggression is spread out.

Can't help you with the ID on these, they're still on my to do list.

 

[Moby-Krib]

both horizontal striped are of Melanochromis origin . I'm lazy right now but suffice to say Highly aggressive, extreme upper end. ..
two of the Pictured I can attest to personally, more than once.
I use this Dr. best ever Cichlid link to start my ideals..
I also look up real world pics to further identify or verify cross breeds..
You, DrRob, I recognize, Always a good addition to any post..

 

[calversbuyuk]

Lord My First response removed. I saw Lego land and almost snaped.
I Was ready to decapitate you. Yet I see the deal now. I think

That was a horrible, sharp, dismal home.
African Cichlids rival Chimps in intelligence, DON'T neglect nor try to fool them.


They are being Mbuna by hiding in the rock , thank god you got them out of that plastic ill suited substrate world... It was horrid!!!
Made me actually sick to see those conditions... Sorry , these fish are special.
Developmental milestones in he Rift Lakes prelude most all other fish you will ever keep.
They are challenging yet rewarding as such.(Don't let this put you off as it is easy to provide the needs If you actually care to do so.)

Give them Time, trust me they will come around all on their own.. let them get acclimated.
Given you provide good water and proper surroundings.
they naturally live in and around the rock in large seemingly overstocked proximity ..
keeping them properly is an art!!
Tank now looks good, grats(top picture). It really does!!
Patience.
You may possibly need some direction though as the stocking is from the pictures ...some of the most aggressive of the species.. what else have you in there?
What are dimensions of tank, and stocking as YOU know it? If I may ask?
A few modifications may be in order here to get the active, healthy (and they are trust me ) stock you desire.

Ahh when they were in the small tank with the blue gravel and green stuff it was for a few days just as i was setting uo the other tank, didnt want them with nothing so found some bits t make a few holes which they enjoyed.
Im just no good with stocking as there hd to remember the names,
i have 1 of theose blue 1s you see in the picture above, 3 of thoses stripey ones and then 4 yellow labs, there are also about 4other blue ones but unable to get a photo as they all hide. So are you all saying i need to stock more fish in there so that they dont pick on 1 fish for example?
ermm its a 4ft tank roughly 130Ls. and im unsure on what the fish are apart from yellow labs and the 4 blue ones, the other 4 (3 stripey and 1 blue) were from Pets at home they just said Malawi cichlids

last night for example i had a look in the tank and they do seem ot come out at time all of them and just swim in the midddle, i can see them now all swimming around looking a lot happier, but as soon as i go near or alight comes on there GONE!

Not quite a reply to you question but I love your first pic looks amazing. And how do you get you bubbles to go the all the way along your tank ?? ( giant airstone or do you have a air line with holes along it ???

Thanks but yeh its a long air curtain -
http/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1x-Aquarium-Air-Curtain-30-60-90-120cm-Bubble-Wall-for-Fish-Tank-Air-Line-Pump-/150796494074?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&var=&hash=item231c2be4fa
as you can see the longer ones have 2 of the same ends, i complained as its useless as when you ut the air pipe in one end the bbbles just go straight out the other end and not through the holes!! so had 2 use a dual output pump one for each end and it works fine

As Moby says, much improved. I've got nothing particular against plastic ornaments, wouldn't have them myself, but some people love them. Those edges though would eventually have been a problem.

You already have a powerhead, it's the large thing on the top right in your picture. They're also called wavemakers and such like.

Couple of comments that may help you. These fish are territorial and use the rockscape to define territory. Try upping the amount of rock with more caves and hiding places and, paradoxically they'll generally be on show a lot more.

The activity you often see in these tanks is also often the result of a slightly (deliberately) overstocked system from the point of view of territory. There's two ways to keep these, in small groups so there are no issues, or in large groups so that aggression is spread out.

Can't help you with the ID on these, they're still on my to do list.

Yeh i didnt like it but as said above was just for a few days whilst my other was being set up .
Ha i ddint know they were called power head i just used the wavemaker name
hmm i think i need more fish then as i dont really have that many do i? thanks

both horizontal striped are of Melanochromis origin . I'm lazy right now but suffice to say Highly aggressive, extreme upper end. ..
two of the Pictured I can attest to personally, more than once.
I use this Dr. best ever Cichlid link to start my ideals..
I also look up real world pics to further identify or verify cross breeds..
You, DrRob, I recognize, Always a good addition to any post..

thanks see there names are just confusing as it is hahahah

 

[sadguppy]

I assume that you are using the old filter or at least the media from it? Sorry if this is stupidly obvious, but lethargy can be a sign of things wrong in the tank. Perhaps they're going through a mini cycle, I experienced this when I upgraded. Big water changes livened everyone up.

 

[calversbuyuk]

I assume that you are using the old filter or at least the media from it? Sorry if this is stupidly obvious, but lethargy can be a sign of things wrong in the tank. Perhaps they're going through a mini cycle, I experienced this when I upgraded. Big water changes livened everyone up.

Yehh its the same filter nothings changed, this tank had been running for a fair few months with tropical fish in so its good water, then swapped them around and now these are in there...

The filters weird, when i do my water change every 2 weeks the filter is soo full of all the sane its annying, this then lowers the power as i can see the waters not being pushed out as quick any ideas?