Rookie Mistake - Help?

[Heck]

I'd say this is strange for the raphs if there are available hideouts and they are in the open. Id guess they are stressed (by water? because if it was light or bullying they'd hide). Give it some time and see if they calm down?

Pictuses are not hiders when comfortable. Nigriventris are hiders but will come out a lot more than raphs.

Algae and presence or absence of live plants shouldnt matter to their comfort.

You were right on - just got home to find the Raphs have settled into new hiding places. The pictus are still *not* hiding, which makes me think that they didn't like something about the 29g. I kind of feel bad for not picking up on it, but they survived and I think they're happy now.

The nigriventris have settled a bit, but still, even with the lights on, if I sit still and don't spook them, they'll occasionally come down to where the pictus are, almost like they're trying to shoal with them. Nigriventris being what they are, I have to assume that, whatever is happening with them, they're not unhappy - if they were scared or upset they'd hide *more*.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

You may be too hard on yourself over the pictuses. Often we have little clue why fish behave differently in a different tank. There must be factors we are mostly blind to. Pictus are versatile - can hide, can swim in the open, can do both, can dart from cover to cover every now and then all day. The group dynamics, genders, age, tank mates, dithers (like you said), water, diet, lighting, scape, and 50 other things may all play a role in this.

 

[Heck]

GUESS WHAT MR. HECK GOT ME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!

He came in this morning and said "Santa came early; hard to time these things perfectly" and handed me a box...

I got my marbled eupterus! He's teeny tiny, seems sturdy and unbothered by his long trip. Hard to tell in the photos but he has one side primarily pigmented with a few splashes, his face is split pretty much down the middle with a dark eye on the pigmented side and a pink eye on the white side, and then his other side has a lot more white splashes.

This is so super cool.

 

[Heck]

 

[Fishman Dave]

Very nice , but I always like looking at baby Eupterus and get so tempted every time, and then I look at my none shoaling group of 9 an 10 inchers and am reminded what they end up like and how long they live.

 

[Heck]

How can you not love them? They're the best!