Fish behaviour

[Anne L.]

I'm just wondering if my fish's behaviour is normal for them.

The rasboras and tetras seem to like to occupy a space under the heater in the back left corner of the tank. Some of the tetras are venturing out and sitting around the tank, but the rasboras sure like to stick together.

They don't seem to be swimming around exploring the tank as much as they did at first.

Sometimes they also like to sit under the filter and catch the current as well.

This is mostly when the lights are on. I turned the lights off and went back later and the little buggers are swimming around. They went to hide in their corner when they saw me.

So are they scared of the lights and me? They eat really well when I turn the lights on. I'm not sure if I should be leaving the lights on at night, because it's fairly bright in the room where they are during the day.

I'm going to likely get a couple of fluorescent bulbs for the hood this weekend to save some money as well as dim the light a little. I'm also thinking of getting a fake floating plant to also dim the lights. I read somewhere (here?) that these kinds of fish like subdued lighting.

Any ideas :confused:

[OrionGirl]

Small tetras are pretty well prey food in most waters. Schooling behavior is one adaptation, but staying in low light areas, and under the cover of plants and such, is another. When you approach the tank, they see you as a potential predator, and hide. When the lights are on, they know they are more visible (think above water predators for this one--birds being a huge one), so try to find some cover.

You can manipulate this to your advantage--provide them shelter in the middle of the tank. A rock overhang, fake or real plants with lots of leaves, anything. While it doesn't seem to make sense, the more hiding places you provide, the less the fish will hide. When they know they are ALWAYS just a short distance from cover, they are more confortable swimming around.

[Anne L.]

Thanks, OrionGirl. I thought it was something like this, because I shut the lights off last night, with just a small lamp in the living room and waited to see what the fish would do.

Then after a couple of hours, I snuck up on the tank, and they were swimming around happily. When I went closer, there they were, hiding out, and not moving much.

I do have plants and a castle in there, but probably there isn't enough cover.

I'll have to look into some stuff this weekend. Also, my kids are pretty excited, and are at the tank a lot. I'll have to tell them to back off a bit.

[OrionGirl]

Actually, the kids being at the tank--not tapping it, but just sitting and watching--will let the fish learn that what happens outside the tank is not a threat. My fish used to hide when I would get close, but now they are used to me, the dogs, the cats, other people, and while they might dart to cover initially, they will come back out within a minute or so.

[Anne L.]

Hmm, never thought of that. We've told them to stay a little back from the tank, because they do tend to get their faces right up to the glass. Can't imagine how that must look to a poor little fish.

I do think the lights are too bright, though. I don't want to turn one side of the lights off, though, as the fish will likely stay away from the bright side then. We'll see how the fluorescents do, and they'll save a lot of money as well as being cooler.