Fish staying on one side still

[NCreefwannabe]

well youve tried everything else lol. Otherwise, maybe theres some graboid under your sand over there (tremors..love that movie lol) But youve moved your pumps, powerheads and gottin more rock... so if moving the skimmer doesnt work, the last thing I would try is getting a ground probe, there like $15??

If nothing works, your fish are obviously ignorant to the fact that theres another half of the tank over there lol...

 

[cfarrow2]

Try training them with electro-shock therapy. Hit the left side with a stripped lamp cord that's plugged in. After that, hit them again every time they stray to the left side. After a while they'll avoid that side like the plague. Then they'll stay on the right side.....hmmm; maybe that's not such a good idea after all.

 

[Octoberfest]

Well I might have figure it out. The tank is in my formal dining room, what i call the "fish room" now since there is no table in there. Well I put two and two together and realized this started when I went to second shift. What is different about that, time correct and what is differnet about time...THE SUN!!!! I normally didn't turn the tank lights on until about 4:00 pm when I got home and shut them off at about 10:00PM at night. So the fish were "sleeping" during the day when the sun was low in the sky and sun would put light into the sides of the tank while the tank's lights were off. I would turn them on and the sun was either high in the sky or setting on the other side of the house when the fish were "up". Why would this matter, well because the sun puts light into the house and you can see reflections of the blinds and wall off the tank. When my dog or myself walk around I'm sure the light behind us could spook the fish. They stay on the opposite side of the tank than the side where the light from the sun is the brightest.

So what I did was put a towel on the right side of the tank to cover the right end glass. It doesn't completely block the sun light but it helps. The fish have been coming out more and more now and have gone past the half way point so it seems to me that my theory is working. I was going to pain the ends black but I really like looking down the side of the tank. I'm going back to day shift at the end of May so I'll see what happens then.

 

[NCreefwannabe]

you know what lol, right before I clicked on this again, I thought about that... I was like well his computer is there, and so is the window... Wish I woulda remembered that earlier lol.

 

[mayor10]

Just use some black construction paper or poster board and cut to size, rather than painting. Just tape it in place, works great and it's not permanent so you can easily take off to view that side when you want.

I do this on one side of my tank to avoid algae issues because it gets some direct sunlight in the morning.

 

[NCreefwannabe]

that and your not sure about keeping it yet so I wouldnt paint it. How about some dark curtains in there? or darker blinds.