I agree. I have Tilapia which I believe are a bit like cichlids looks and behavior wise. The males and females will dig big holes in the substraight big enough to put a basket ball in down to the bottom of the tank. I got into making mouthing gestures with my first big one and it was fun. My mouthing seemed to put it at ease, and as I started doing this to all my fish I realised that it made all my fish more at ease, I guess a predator doesn't tip it's head and make gestures with it's mouth. A predator will sneak up with no mouth movements till it strikes I guess. Mouthing and head tipping, and following your fish around in the tank in a non-threatening way is a good way to make your fish tame. I guess it makes them see you as a friend and another community fish I think.

it's funny that this topic came up, my discus actually know when it's feeding time, i feed the same time every day, the other times when i am sitting in a kitchen chair right up by the tank they come out and swim up to the glass and study me as if i was the one on display, the puffers love it too, they get their little bodies in between the discus who are 100 times their size lol and watch me for any movement, when i talk to them they seem to recognize that i am talking directly to them, the puppy however gets jealous and comes up to the tank tries to get between me and it. when cleaning the tank i have to be careful not to suck up the puffers because they attack the intake on my siphon....!! ballsy little bastards!! the discus when i am cleaning the tank will come up and lightly brush against my arm or hand, my blue diamond will actually come up and rest against my hand and swim around it like he's putting on a breeding display, he's the biggest in my tank and i am thinking that he associates my hand with another discus as it's about the same size. if i am not careful the puffers will dart out of hiding in the foliage and rip out a strand of arm hair from time to time i shoo them away but then they come back for more, it's a game to them i think more than anything because they aren't afraid of me and aren't acting in a super aggressive manor, they seem to like the game of cat and mouse. when the cats get on top of the tank and lean way over the side and look into the tank the discus and puffers come right up to the spot where the cats are and put on a dominance display and do what i like to call the cichlid shake!! they shutter their body in a fast motion while displaying their whole side to the cats as if to say "hey this is my home bitches and if you think yer gonna have me for a snack you got another thing coming!" lol the cats will actually back away from the glass when this happens because it's such odd behavior for them to see. they all have their own personalities and quirks and i think that's really the bottom line when it comes to fish keeping, if all of the fish were just autonomous i don't think i would have any, they each show diff sides at diff times and it's always interesting to observe.
Brandon