Shy Ahli

[valdega]

I recently bought an Ahli Cichlid from the LFS and he appears to be afraid of me. I'll see him swimming around if i sit still across the room, but if i go close to the tank he will hide from me, under some of the driftwood. is this common behavior for a cichlid? will he grow out of it? he seems to be warming up a little but still hides. makes it hard to feed cichlid flakes if he's afraid to come out when i feed him.

[Dave66]

I recently bought an Ahli Cichlid from the LFS and he appears to be afraid of me. I'll see him swimming around if i sit still across the room, but if i go close to the tank he will hide from me, under some of the driftwood. is this common behavior for a cichlid? will he grow out of it? he seems to be warming up a little but still hides. makes it hard to feed cichlid flakes if he's afraid to come out when i feed him.

It'll take him a while to get used to your tank. However, if you provide more hiding places, you'll see him more in the meantime.

Dave

[valdega]

Here's a picture of him. I sat still in front of the tank and he eventually got curious enough to make an appearance.

I'm thinking about calling him Mohammad the Ahli.

[Dave66]

Nice looking fish, and good shot of him. He ought to color up really nicely as he grows.

Dave

[valdega]

the pic doesn't really do him justice. He's a very vibrant iridescent blue, very beautiful.

[snipers_den]

nice looking ahli....as Dave 66 mentioned, he'll appreciate more hiding holes and some rock ledges....they come out more if they have a place to retreat every noew and than.......

[valdega]

Yeah, after reading up a bit i realized they really like rocks and caves and such. He's swimming out in the open some more. I guessed he has learned i have his food. I'll go get some more cover for him when i get the chance. Is there any kind of rock out there that would help buffer the pH and alkalinity?

[snipers_den]

i use tufa (spelling ???) rock in my cichlid tank its a soft rock but it helps out with buffering......lava rock works good too..

heres a site for you too look at which you might find useful.....it has a DIY rock wall for your tank..when you get there go to ....DIY Projects...scroll down and click onto cave grotto aquarium background......

www.aquariumlife.net

.....have fun and good luck......

[valdega]

thanks for the link, ill check it out. :)