PPK9110

ever since i've removed 3 of my mollies from my 20 gallon long tank my cichilid seem to eat less and less, i don't know why, the only two reason i can think of its that when i have trying to catch my mollies i might of scared them and stressed my cichilids, and i've been feedind them blood worms for a few days and i got them some cichilid flakes they seem to be afraid of it and hide behind the rocks...its bugging me, what should i do

Neville

i think u should feed them bloodworms once a week only. bloodworms r high in protein.

Butterfly

Some fish need what we call dither fish. Dither fish swim around alot, especially at the top of the water. As long as the dither fish are swimming around the other fish know everything is alright and there aren't any predators around and it's safe for them to come out to eat and swim around. But if the dither fish are darting around or suddenly aren't there they know there is a predator there and it's not safe to come out to eat or swim around. Evidently your cichlids felt better with the mollies in the tank.
I use danios for dither fish quite alot but just about anything could be used that swims around top/mid water
Carol

PPK9110

that makes sense, i seriously thought about that, because when i drop flakes and blood worms my mollies were definaly the first ones to swim towards it and my cichilid follows, its it possible after awhile my cichild will get used to not having dither fish? i mean the only reason why i got rip of my mollies is because they only swim around they don't have any characteristic they don't hide behind the rocks and swim through the tunnels, i guess i need them =/

Butterfly

It's an instinctive thing they do. If you don't like the mollies get something else. I love my danios for thet they are constantly zipping around.
Carol

PPK9110

i talked to my local fish store guy he told me that i should try to complete feeding my cichilid for 2-3 days let them starve (very hard thing for a soft hearted guy like me to do) once they get really hungry they wouldn't get scare they just eat like crazy... hopefully it works.

Butterfly

They probably will eat if you starve them (and it really won't hurt them) but it is much more natural to have dither fish in the tank to make them feel more safe. What happens when their not hungry anymore and they start hiding again
Carol

PPK9110

yeah you're right, what are some dither fish thats really small in size and doesn't get big, because i doon't want to over stock my tank, i think i'm already over stocking it

Butterfly

Danios are what I use, but go to the LFS and watch for fish that swim together and are active then which of those you like. You need at least three or more
Carol

PPK9110

its kinda frustrating because i think i'm already over stocking my tank and i don't want to add too many fish, but if i don't they won't eat i have 4 black tetra with them, but they do not swim around much, you think if i get couple more of black tetras they'll swim around? i was thinking to remove one or two of my cichilid from my tank but i like every single one of them, geez....

Butterfly

Are they eating yet?
Carol

PPK9110

umm yeah you can say that, but they get really paranoid, they swim for the flakes and barely niped it and swim back to their hiding spots, maybe over time they will realize its safe in their tank, maybe?