Hey! I have a question about cichlids. I have two BP cichlids in which I have had for about 5 months. They have both grown a lot and are very healthy. When I look at videos of other peoples Bp cichlids they seem to be so much more active then mine though. I have rocks and caves for them to hide in and they are ALWAYS hiding except at feeding times, I also have bubblers and tiger barbs in with them to make them more comfortable with all the movement. What am I doing wrong? Maybe nothing as they barely ever get black spots and are brightly colored but my tank always looks so empty except for the barbs. Should I take out some of the hididng spots or will that make them unhappy? 29 gallon and temp is 80 degrees. Thanks in advance!!

Are you looking at much larger tanks with many more cichlids than yours?

My first guess would be they are not very active because the tank is too small for them. I would not house a pair of BP's in anything less than a 55gal. My second guess would be that the Tiger Barbs may be nipping at the BP's & that's causing them to hide all the time. My money would be on the small tank though.

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Hello, my name is Daniel & I'm an aquariaholic