Is this normal behaviour?

[Fishlover1N]

Yesterday I bought 10 chili rasboras for my cycled 7 gallon tank. The tank is heavily planted and has a lot of cover.

The rasboras haven't explored any of the tank and have stayed in a back corner glass surfing the whole time. Is this normal behaviour whilst they are settling in?

 

[sharkweek178]

What are your water parameters?

 

[Essjay]

That is normal behaviour for newly purchased fish. They've just been through a very stressful time (chased round the store tank, caught in a net, put in a bag, released into strange surroundings and possibly different water). Some fish settle within a couple of days, while others need a couple of weeks.

By "a lot of cover" do you mean plants floating on the surface?

 

[Fishies4Ever]

A picture of the tank and water parameters would help for us to see the setup of your tank. The fish are most likely just still stressed and will settle down in a few days or a week.

 

[Mikeyboy123]

Perfectly normal in my experience with chillis.

If there is any current back there, make sure any gaps are covered up. They will gladly swim frantically against the current, and once through, their momentumm can see them come straight out of the tank. If there are any gaps you may wake up to find your chillis on the floor.

They seem drawn to any current actually, and will actively try and get into the end of the tube when syphoning during water changes, so bear that in mind.

 

[Fishlover1N]

What are your water parameters?

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
pH: 7.4

 

[Fishlover1N]

That is normal behaviour for newly purchased fish. They've just been through a very stressful time (chased round the store tank, caught in a net, put in a bag, released into strange surroundings and possibly different water). Some fish settle within a couple of days, while others need a couple of weeks.

By "a lot of cover" do you mean plants floating on the surface?

Okay thanks. There is amazon frogbit and hornwort floating at the top.

 

[Fishlover1N]

Perfectly normal in my experience with chillis.

If there is any current back there, make sure any gaps are covered up. They will gladly swim frantically against the current, and once through, their momentumm can see them come straight out of the tank. If there are any gaps you may wake up to find your chillis on the floor.

They seem drawn to any current actually, and will actively try and get into the end of the tube when syphoning during water changes, so bear that in mind.

Thanks for the info as I have a few gaps in my lid that I will cover up.

 

[Essjay]

Okay thanks. There is amazon frogbit and hornwort floating at the top.

That's good. Many of the fish we buy come from rivers with overhanging vegetation and they feed threatened with nothing to hide under. Having frogbit and hornwort on the surface lowers the stress of being 'exposed' so they should settle in better.

 

[sharkweek178]

That's good. Many of the fish we buy come from rivers with overhanging vegetation and they feed threatened with nothing to hide under. Having frogbit and hornwort on the surface lowers the stress of being 'exposed' so they should settle in better.

And it's good for the water quality. Win win.

 

[Mikeyboy123]

Thanks for the info as I have a few gaps in my lid that I will cover up.

They should snap out of it after a few days as they settle down. They can be a pain at water change times though. I've sucked one up accidentally quite a few times as they seem to find the end of the siphon tube fascinating and I find myself having to really be on the ball and shoo them away with a stick.