Freaking out Frontosa

I just got 4 large size Fronts last weekend, as many of you already know.

they seem to not want to eat very much (I am feeding what the woman was feeding them- Hikari Sinking Cichlid Pellets)

And they constantly freak out, and will jump. I haven't had any jump out of the tank, Thank God, but we will just be sitting here, and one will go from one side and just hit the glass and try to jump, hitting the top of the tank.

All water parameters are with in their limits, the tank is fully cycled, there have been NO changes in environment, except we have added more hiding spots.

Any ideas what is going on?

I think maybe I have the wrong ration of Males to Females in the tank?

I believe I have more than one male.

What size is your tank? Fronts are usually very docile..and in my experience...if they are scared they usually hide... not jump. Do they have places to hide? If your fish are swimming back and forth against the glass all the time, something isn't right and the fish are irritated. Best to keep the lights off for them too...My fronts don't get any light except for 15 mins before and after feeding times. All other times they are left in the dark or with dimly lit LED moon lights.

that sucks sounds weird try some stress coat may help

Any tankmates with them?

Fern wrote:

Any tankmates with them?

Nope, just the fronts.

They are in a 75. Before I got them, they were being housed in a very cramped and decorated 55. There is nothing in this tank, but substrate, and some pots/caves to hide in. There are more caves, than fish, so everyone has a spot. The lights are off at all times, except for a small amount of time at night. They get fed, but will not eat until everyone is in bed.

They are not swimming back and forth or anything unusual, it's just every now and then they jump, and I can't figure out why.

do u have any cats or dogs that would spooke em??
iv had cats keep my fish paranoid!!! lol wenever ppl walked by the fish would go nuts!!
that or they just gotta get used to u!!! and their surroundings!

I have cats, and dogs, but not even at the same level as the tank. Its on an aquarium stand.

When this happens there is never anything around to spook them.

We will just be sitting here, and SPLASH-CLUNK! Then it's ok..

I was thinking that maybe they see their reflection in the glass?

lol hmm.........i dont think their reflection woud spook em like that!
their were raised in a tank so they know watt their reflection is!...........
have u tried stress coats?
any agression in the tank?

I did try Stress Coat, and it didn't seem to help at all.

The only aggression I have seen is from the big guy kicking someone out of his pot. Other than that they are fine.

Maybe they just need to get used to being in a bigger tank?

it could be that the big guy is chasin em round the tank!!
study them closely!!maybe u have too much males??

I don't know how to sex my Fronts. I know that I have more than one male, and with 4, you should only have one male... so that may be my problem. But I am 100% certain that he's not chasing them around.

hmm..............do they fight for food?

alkomist wrote:

hmm..............do they fight for food?

No, they won't eat...

I've tried the Hikari Sinking Pellets, and even Shrimp Pellets (both of which they supposedly loved- per former owner), and they will eat maybe 2 pellets, and that's it.

I know that's not enough for them, so I need to find something different. I don't care if I have to feed live. These things need to eat.

if their not eating and actin funky! check the tank for eggs!

How is your tank positioned? Do you have lights turned on all the time? Room Lights? Fronts are skittish fish. I have to approach my tank carefully everytime or else they'd be crashing all over the tank. The trick to feeding is to feed them less. A famished fish is a healthy fish. Try to ast them fro 3-5 days and feed them lightly at the end of fasting.

khrister wrote:

How is your tank positioned? Do you have lights turned on all the time? Room Lights? Fronts are skittish fish. I have to approach my tank carefully everytime or else they'd be crashing all over the tank. The trick to feeding is to feed them less. A famished fish is a healthy fish. Try to ast them fro 3-5 days and feed them lightly at the end of fasting.

Tank is positioned against a wall. Lights are only turned on for a short time at night. No room lights except for one across the other side of the room which gets turned on at night. We have the windows for daytime lights.

I can walk past the fish tank, and they don't budge.

I feed them maybe 6 pellets a day, and they sit in there, and the fronts don't even acknowledge they are in there. When I come out in the morning they are gone though, so they do get eaten at some point.

Is there a shade blowing or a shadow crossing their tank?
Something is spooking them. This isn't an in the tank issue its something outside of the tank. Stand by their tank for a while and look around see if there is anything moving erratically.
The only time my fronts have freaked enough to splash water was when I didn't tie up the walkway curtain and a big gust of wind blew it by their tank.

Could it maybe be the TV?

We have a 52'' wide Screen HDTV on the same wall, but angled out from the corner.

You can see it from where the tank is.

Maybe the big T.V. is on the wrong chanel. The cooking chanel is scary for fish on "Fried Fish Friday's"

Yes, movement + noise = freaked out fish

I do have vinyl that I can place on the tank sides to cover it.

Would color matter for the fish?

I was thinking black...

sal wrote:

Maybe the big T.V. is on the wrong chanel. The cooking chanel is scary for fish on "Fried Fish Friday's"

I normally watch the court shows, or animal planet. Maybe they just get ticked off about all the animal cruelty cases like I do! lol.

Or maybe it was that whale show I was watching..

Tape whatever you want up there, If you have kids have them draw pictures to tape up there.

Fern wrote:

Tape whatever you want up there, If you have kids have them draw pictures to tape up there.

I'll have to make some fishy background since I don't have kids, and I can't teach the pups how to draw! lol.