Dear Adam,

They’ll ‘never get used to you’ per se. It’s all a matter of their environment–call it ‘tank decorating,’ if you will.

Arrange their hiding spaces so that they are visible to you–the slants in the rocks, however you do it. Also, do you have enough ‘plants’ in the aquarium? [Artificial are better than real]. And are there also less shy types of fish in the tank to make them feel that things are safer?

Check with your local pet store experts to find out what a good environment is, and what types of fish are compatible.

I love Cichlids! Had a bunch myself over the years.

Jewel cichlids of all species are very belligerent, and will attack fish twice their size when defending territories/eggs/fry. Therefore you need not worry that they will remain shy forever, just give them some time to adjust to the new environment, and they will be out and moving around in a couple of days..