Fish not using entire tank

mine do the same thing!! in fact it drove me nuts. but I figured it out, I was feeding them in the same location every day, for months. now I go to the end of the tank, now there on both sides more

mine go where there is most waterflow and for a while they were only in the back right corner because that is where the nozzel (located in the back left corner) for my canister filter was pointed, but i added a powerhead in the front right corner pointed towards the front left corner and, well now my cichlids are everywhere! they tend to enjoy digging in the sand and making caves of their own under my lava rock, but still they love chasing each other around the tank. ESPECIALLY my labs!

mine do that as well. They seem grouped away from where my canister filter out nozzle is. So the strong flow may do that. Any way to return the strong current?

This is a long shot but measure the temp. at either end & see if there is a significant difference. It's possible they could favor the temp. on one side more than the other. "T"

good idea to check temps; also if this is a new set-up they will also tend to be finding security in groups, especially young fish...they will settle in, especially as they grow (are we talking mbuna ? you can get some more in there and they will certainly mix it up more). but they do do this a bit alright - you would go nuts trying to work out why....

"hey hows it hanging...pretty good here huh...you thinking of going over there"..."me ? nope...you ?"...."maybe later...you coming ?"....."yeah...maybe later...these rocks rock!"..."sure do...so...you coming over there or what"..."you go first"...."alright then I'll smack your head in hows about that"..."yeowch"