My fish are afraid of me.

C

crobattt

Member
So i keep seeing peoples tank where the fish will follow them for food, but in my tank i have to sit completely still watch mine, but if i make the slightest movement they will zoom away and hide in the rocks.. is there anything i can do to fix this?...
 
Need more information because there are a lot of things that can make fish skittish.

What fish do you have? How big is your tank? Do you have a lot of rock in your tank? What's your lighting? Where in the house is your tank?
 
Try feeding with a turkey baster. That's how I got mine to swim towards me when I come around. :p
 
when you feed make sure you still remain right next to the tank. my fish got used to this and now come up to the front when they see me thinking I will feed them. :) I swear they can tell the difference between people because they hide for my husband!
 
Usually if you have your tank in a high traffic area and you have people or kids that go up to the aquarium and tap the glass sometimes this will happen. But they eventually get over it in time
 
My experience is that some will get over it and some won't. Most of my fish crowd the closest corner of my tank any time I am in sight. In some respects, it is detrimental because I would prefer to watch them swimming around acting like fish on a reef rather than a bunch of starving beggars.

When I do maintenance or other things in the tank besides feeding, some of the fish just hang around my hands, others swim about but keep their distance, and one or two hide back in the rocks. If one is skittish and darts away, the others will do so as well but they get over it quickly.

Give them time, and your bolder fish will get used to you and stay around you.
 
I generally stand on a chair and feed them...then watch from above as they eat. over time the fish will recognize that you approaching the tank means feeding time. that is when they will follow you to one end of the aquarium to the other.
 
If you use the same feeding containers/turkey basters most will come to recognize those containers to the point that just picking them up draws my fish to the corner I feed at, (I also feed from the same spot) and I agree, stand there after feeding for a bit unless you have a new fish that seems too scared to eat or something.
My fish are so used to me now it's hard to get a pic of anything w/out them swarming in front of the camera.
 
Lynnmw1208 said:
I swear they can tell the difference between people because they hide for my husband!
Click to expand...

2 of my 3 follow me or hang out in front of my face when I'm looking at the tank. For my boyfriend (who never feeds), they don't do that, they just swim around and ignore him. The 3rd fish (yellow coris wrasse) is a nervous nellie and won't come out if anything is in the tank (hand, baster, tweezers), but will come forward as long as it thinks my attention is elsewhere (spot feeding or just standing still) and will follow the magfloat IF my boyfriend is using it (not if I do, if I use it he flips out of the water, hits the lights, scares himself, then buries himself...and no, I don't make sudden movements). When other people come over and put their faces at the tank, they all go to the back and peek out LOL.

You have to walk by our tank to get anywhere but the kitchen or garage, so it's high traffic.

Heck, one of ours (Orbic cardinal nicknamed "puppy dog" because he follows me everywhere) likes to hang out in the Portal and watch us LOL.
 
Dr Colliebreath said:
My experience is that some will get over it and some won't. Most of my fish crowd the closest corner of my tank any time I am in sight. In some respects, it is detrimental because I would prefer to watch them swimming around acting like fish on a reef rather than a bunch of starving beggars.

When I do maintenance or other things in the tank besides feeding, some of the fish just hang around my hands, others swim about but keep their distance, and one or two hide back in the rocks. If one is skittish and darts away, the others will do so as well but they get over it quickly.

Give them time, and your bolder fish will get used to you and stay around you.
Click to expand...

Agreed! That is exactly what mine do too. I have to sit far away if I want to watch them, otherwise they just follow my face around the tank!
 
Maybe stop wearing the shark costume and randomly lunging at the front of the display tank while emitting bloodcurdling screams.
 
Greg 45 said:
Get a cardboard cutout of dale E. Jr. and leave it in front of the tank
Click to expand...

They're trying to NOT scare them :lmao:

My cardinal always follows my face. I'll try to look at something with the magnifying glass and there's his giant eye in it.
 
I agree with standing around the tank while the fish eat so they associate you with food plus they are less cautious when food is available.

I sometimes have to move away after feeding because some of the fish won't chase food if I am there as they are waiting for something they like better.
 
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