Parrot fish wont swim around

Question
Hi Rachel
I certainly hope you can help. I have a brand new 3 feet tank with warm fresh water. 6 Days after being set up I put in two relatively small parrot fish. The problem is they are not swimming around. The have been hiding inside the ornaments for 5 days now. I decided to remove the ornaments but now they just "sit" behind the pump pipe and don't swim around at all. What can I do to make them swim. Just sitting there is really boring to watch.
Thanks,
Ellen

Answer
While it may be boring, this is them simply trying to adjust to the tank. They need hiding places and lack of them will result in stress and likely diseases and parasite, so replace the hiding spots. You will have to give them a while, they are shy fish and need time, prob 1-2 weeks, to even begin to settle in. They are not really good fish for activity at first, sometimes after they settle in the adjust and move alot but are more quite fish to begin with. If you do not like this and dont want to wait to see if they are active, take them back to the store and trade them for fish like rainbow fish, silver dollars, bala sharks, angelfish, rosy barbs, and german rams. These can all be in the same tank and are wonderful fish with different colors and very active. Also, if you decide to keep them get a more tasty food like brine shrimp and feed them meaty foods and foods more tempting to bring them out. Also, when you come near the tank dont make sudden moves and darts, this will get them more use to you as well. Let me know if you need more help.