What's the secret? Every time they see ANY movement from me they all run in their shells and hide for 5 minutes. If I drop cichid pellets in the tank, they just sink to the bottom unseen by the fish...and I don't see them pecking at the sand looking for food at any time (the cory ends up finding it). If I put flakes in the tank, none of them go high enough to see them (and haven't really gone after the sinking pieces). They've only been in the tank for 2 days.....do they become less paranoid over time, or will these fish always hide when they see someone? Just wondering.
BTW, their territory battles are mesmerizing. Within 10 minutes of being in the tank, they were already squaring off and claiming shells. I've rearranged them a bit this morning to separate the clusters a bit....and seem to have found a "happy" medium as the battles are less frequent now. The tank is in my office at my work place.......I might have to set me up another brevis tank at home after watching these guys.
Now....if I could only figure out a way to feed them. 
BTW, their territory battles are mesmerizing. Within 10 minutes of being in the tank, they were already squaring off and claiming shells. I've rearranged them a bit this morning to separate the clusters a bit....and seem to have found a "happy" medium as the battles are less frequent now. The tank is in my office at my work place.......I might have to set me up another brevis tank at home after watching these guys.