HELP! EXTREMELY STRESSED AND TERRIFIED CICHLID! PLEASE HELP!!!

[PGJE]

Hi, I am new to this forum, and I have a problem. I have a 5 inch texas cichlid in a 30 gallon tank, and i have had him for nearly a year now. I moved him just a few days ago, he used to be in a 50 gallon fishtanks with two turtles and a pleco. In that tank, he would eat and swim around, but when I came into the room he would always dart back into hiding like his life depended on it. I did't want him to live his life always hiding, so we bought him his own tank (the 30 gallon he is in it right now). He has been in it for 3 days, but he doesn't eat anything except for feeder fish, and even then he only eats them at night when no one is around. All day he just lays on the bottom of the tank behind a fake plant, and stays completely still. He has moved around the tank a few times, but immediately swam away and hid when I walked into the room. Also, his poop is white, and I heard somewhere that that meant he was stressed! What can I do to help him, and WHAT CAN I DO TO GET HIM TO MOVE?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He has no tank mates, a nice filtration system, pH: 7.6. HELP! PLEASE! I AM LOSING PATIENCE!!!

 

[Rocksor]

The problem is that he has no tankmates to feel safe enough. Also, he doesn't know that you provide food because he only eats feeder fish and not pellets. Hr could also have parasites because of the feeder fish.

 

[PGJE]

Thank you!

 

[PGJE]

I'll try to give him a tank mate... Maybe another texas or what would be good that he wouldn't eat or get eaten by?

 

[Jexnell]

A lot of cichlid keepers use what we call dithers to bring out shy juvenile cichlids.
Dithers are basically tetras, barbs, live beaers like swordtails.
In the wild the young cichlid uses then as a alarm system of sorts. If they are swimming around normal its safe to come out. When they dart for cover the cichlid knows there is trouble about and knows to hide as well.

There are many ways to do this in tanks. Some will go what they live with in the wild. Some go with what they want based on looks and such.

In my Oscar tank I have Roseline sharks.


In my JD tank I have Bloodfin tetras.

And Black Skirt Tetras in my Jewels tank.

It's an arms race of sorts, to pick a fish that is either fast enough, or has an odd shaped body (like the tall bodied tetras)
I am not sure what Texas live with in the wild, possibly swordtails.

 

[PGJE]

Thanks! I’m kind of worried about small fish though... when I put feeder fish in the tank, 7 were eaten in one night. Is there any fish that a cichlid won’t attack?

 

[PGJE]

Would gala sharks work, or would they grow too big?

 

[PGJE]

Bala not gala

 

[Jexnell]

Try the taller bodied ones like Black skirts, or Bunoes Aries tetras, or fast fish like the Roseline sharks.

 

[PGJE]

Ok