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my B. splendens are really shy, is this normal they were much more active when in the tank originally, about a year or two ago, but I have noticed that I am seeing less and less of them recently.
there are six of them, they range in size from 1.5" to 2.5" + there are no agressive fish in the tank with them, bolivian rams, apisto borelli, and agazzi,penguin tetras, discus, loricaria filamentosa (spelling) and ancistrus. any suggestions as to why they have become so shy/
the room is quite. the tank is 400 litres half very heavily planted (this is where they hide) 1/4 piled with drift wood and boulders and the other 1/4 silica sand.

This is strange- I've got 14 (which could be something to do with it), and they're FAR less shy than any of my corys- they even come barging in when I'm doing a gravel vacuum, and it's almost impossible to spook them; today I had to remove all the decor in their tank to catch some juvenile bristlenose, and they just viewed it as a chance to look for any food that had been under the (removed) decor.

thanks Carp37, I kind of thought that the numbers may have something to do with it, but I did not want to add another 5 or 6 and find that they just joined the existing fish hiding in the plants!
I added 3 Corydoras septentrionalis to the tank today to see the reaction..... now they are all out and about as though they were exploring a new tank!!!!!!!!!!!! oh and as for the size I said they were '' 1.5 to 2.5 inches in length '' well you can make that 2.5 to 3.5 inches in length, the corys are 2 inches and they look tiny next to the Brochis.
tks again.

Yeah, that is fairly unusual for brochis, IME. My 12 sit at the front of the glass and watch me whenever I'm around. They especially like having the TV on, and all of 'em will line up in a row. Definately not shy.

i think you guys have both shown me the problem, not enough brochis in the tank to feel secure, ye had 12 and 14 of them together, I had less than half that, as i said earlier , when I added the three cories they were changed fish, I have add another four corydoras septentrionalis and it really is a different tank, the Brochis are out and about all the time now perched on branches, rocks and cruising through the sand. happy fish and happy fishkeeper.