Jewel cichlids

[cole_russell]

I just witnessed a brawl between my jewels. I have two, and I'm beginning to fret I sexed them incorrectly. What should my course of action be? They've been "mouth wrestling" for about 15 minutes and when broken up seek each other out to continue the brawl.

 

[cole_russell]

The first fish appears to be the aggressor.

 

[swifty]

Get a divider to separate them or place one in another tank. I'm not experienced with jewels, but am with convicts, and jewels I've always read are the "african convict" in terms of temperament. Hopefully someone more experienced can give some advice.

 

[Fishy Smell]

Hard to sex. They could be sparring for dominance, if it's a small tank the weaker will have a hard life, and will need plenty of hiding places. Jewels can be quite nasty with each other and need a lot of space and shelters to make it work. If you're under 30 gallons I would get rid, get something else. 1 on its own would prob be ok in a tank close to 30 but you're going to be very limited what else you can put in.


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[cole_russell]

They're in a 60g malawi tank

 

[Fishy Smell]

I'd leave them to it for a bit then and see how it goes. Probably settle down. My cichlids have scuffles quite often but don't come to serious harm because they pretty much cancel each other out.


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[cole_russell]

My red empress broke it up pretty quickly, I thought that was pretty funny. Every time they'd get at it again the empress would come flying in and break it up and chase em off.

 

[Fishy Smell]

Yeah, they'll prob be fine then. If it was just the 2 in a small tank I'd be much more concerned.


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