Scared Fish

[SPIKE88]

I have 8 small dempseys (maybe an inch). The tank is filled with rocks and slate making many nice caves. Everytime I walk by the tank the fish dart into a cave. In fact the only time I see them is if I lay on the couch for at least a half hour and dont move. I have adequate filtration, I feed them three times a day and do weekly water changes of 15-25%. The water chemistry tests perfect. The last time I had dempseys they were very aggressive and would even attempt to bite me as I changed the water. Is there something wrong? I have had them for about three weeks, so I would think they would be adjusted.

 

[Dwarfs]

Some fish are just very skittish, usually young cichlids are more so than large ones. How large is this tank BTW?

 

[freddyk]

Your fish are still juveniles and acting instinctively as young ones do - getting along as a group for comfort and hiding on any sign of trouble, which for now is that big strange creature that keeps approaching the tank. Don't worry, they'll get used to you, grow, come out, and start showing their true territorial behavior over time.

 

[SPIKE88]

Thanks guys Thats what I thought, sometimes I just need some reasurrance, I dont always trust the guys at lfs, anyone else have this problem.
One guy at my lfs told me I could pu three oscars and a tiger shovelnose in a 50 gallon. My trust in them has dwendled since then.