what is wrong with my Eclipse 6?

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gnahc79

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Feb 11, 2004
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I have had an Eclipse 6 for ~8 months now and have had several set of fish in it. For some reason nearly all the fish hide behind or next to the intake at the top of the tank. They rarely swim around and it's puzzling me. I have a small castle and two small plastic plants, so there's enough shelter for them (I think). The water tests are all normal. Right now I have two platies in there and both of them are hiding all the time. Any ideas? I'm considering just getting a standard 10 gallon tank to replace this thing. :confused:
 
How long have the fish been in there? What kind of plants are there? More hiding places = more social fish, usually. What about lighting and other activity in front of/around the tank? Do they come out to feed?
 
Well these platies are about 2 weeks old. I've had other fish in there for 2-3 months before. The fish end up dying after a few months with no visible infections or abnormalities in the water (stress maybe?). The two plastic plants are about 4-6" tall, nothing too big. There's also a wallpaper on the back as well. As for lighting, it's near the kitchen, so it the outside light consists of fluorescent bulbs and normal bulbs. There isn't any physical activity in front of the tank most of the time, no more than the activity in our thriving 20gallon. The water temp is consistent at 79-80F.
oh, and yes they come out to feed. they don't gobble up the food, but they still eat
 
Try this--approach the tank slowly, then sit in front of it, about 2 feet away, keeping very still. See if the fish are just darting in to hide when you approach, or if they stay hidden all the time. I have several fish that are very active if they don't think I'm there, but rush to hide as soon as they notice me.
 
OrionGirl said:
Try this--approach the tank slowly, then sit in front of it, about 2 feet away, keeping very still. See if the fish are just darting in to hide when you approach, or if they stay hidden all the time. I have several fish that are very active if they don't think I'm there, but rush to hide as soon as they notice me.
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Well the smaller platy died yesterday :(. No visible signs of infection or anythign else abnormal. The other platy seems ok. It does swim around the entire tank from time to time, but hides behind the intake if he sees me. That 10gallon tank seems like a good idea right now.
 
gnahc79 said:
Well the smaller platy died yesterday :(. No visible signs of infection or anythign else abnormal. The other platy seems ok. It does swim around the entire tank from time to time, but hides behind the intake if he sees me. That 10gallon tank seems like a good idea right now.
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As for getting a 10g tank; that isnt really going to stop your fish from hiding all the time. What you really should do is get more hiding places for the fish, then it will hide under there instead of the intake. But if you really wanted a bigger tank you still could, but it wont improve the sociability of your fish!

Good luck!
 
I don't mind if the fish hide all the time, I just don't want them to die so dang soon :(. The tank has hiding places, any more and the bottom third of the tank would be...unswimable IMO (is that even a word?).
I think that with a 10 gal I can have more fish (safety in numbers?) and even more hiding places. I've had several (4-5) sets of fish die in this 'death tank' while my 20 gal tank is thriving.
 
gnahc79 said:
I don't mind if the fish hide all the time, I just don't want them to die so dang soon :(. The tank has hiding places, any more and the bottom third of the tank would be...unswimable IMO (is that even a word?).
I think that with a 10 gal I can have more fish (safety in numbers?) and even more hiding places. I've had several (4-5) sets of fish die in this 'death tank' while my 20 gal tank is thriving.
Click to expand...

ohhhhh, sorry, i get it now!

Still good luck!
 
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