My fish are fighting

[stlrsfan]

The issue is with a new entry getting chased around....

I have a Red Peacock cichlid that's chasing around a new Red Star Flower Horn I got. The peacock is actually somewhat smaller, but much more aggressive. I had not noticed till I looked up close, but looks like he's been getting his tail. Here they are together. They look SO much better than this, but hard to get a photo through glass (for me anyway!).

The weird part? I have a Demasoni who keeps to himself, but won't take no crap from the Peacocks either. He seems to come up every now and again to protect the new entry and chases off the peacock.

The peacock has plenty of hiding places, and uses them, but will leave them anyway to go after the new guy for the hell of it. The new guy isn't very bright. He'll go into the cave and behind a plant, but likes to roam around the tank at about the midway height, which seems to attract the peacock.

Do you think adding some taller fake plants might help?

-Jim

 

[PassengerTN]

Erm.. Hmm..

If you asked ME, your flowerhorn isnt a flowerhorn, its an electric blue acara. Peacock looks like a jacobfreibergi variant. And the demasoni resembles a kenyi or hybrid of sorts. Tall fake plants will help break up the line of sight and may deter aggression a little but won't change too much

 

[mikem691]

I see no flower horn in the 1st picture. I do see what looks like a electric blue acara that has no business in an African tank.

 

[PassengerTN]

Here are some IDs for you

My demasoni
View attachment 271417
My Jacobfreibergi
View attachment 271418
TRMC's Flowerhorn

Random Electric blue acara from google



Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[stlrsfan]

Ah crap, you guys are correct, the images I looked up under Google, and that's exactly my guy. And I still have the receipt, and it's labeled as the red star flower horn - which explains why I never found pictures looking like my fish!!

Should I bring him back and have them put him back in their tank so he doesn't get killed? I don't mind that they overcharged me (another story), but I don't want him to get killed.

 

[stlrsfan]

I definitely have 2 Peacocks.
I am certain the other is an electric blue acara

Was I also mislead with the "demasoni"? Is he actually something else?

 

[mikem691]

Ah crap, you guys are correct, the images I looked up under Google, and that's exactly my guy. And I still have the receipt, and it's labeled as the red star flower horn - which explains why I never found pictures looking like my fish!!

Should I bring him back and have them put him back in their tank so he doesn't get killed? I don't mind that they overcharged me (another story), but I don't want him to get killed.

I would. Also putting a flowerhorn in with your stock would be bad the other way. It would eventually kill your Africans. They really need to be wet pets.

 

[stlrsfan]

I would. Also putting a flowerhorn in with your stock would be bad the other way. It would eventually kill your Africans. They really need to be wet pets.

Gonna do so. Shame, I liked him.

I should have learned much more about the fish I wanted to buy, instead of just picking out the cool looking one.

I'll make sure I stay with the Africans, and do more research before I add anyone else to the tank.

Thanks!

 

[mikem691]

Gonna do so. Shame, I liked him.

I should have learned much more about the fish I wanted to buy, instead of just picking out the cool looking one.

I'll make sure I stay with the Africans, and do more research before I add anyone else to the tank.

Thanks!

You can always go look and wright down what you like and come on here. Some one will help out if you cant find the info you need. Its awesome that you want to do the right thing!

 

[stlrsfan]

You can always go look and wright down what you like and come on here. Some one will help out if you cant find the info you need. Its awesome that you want to do the right thing!

Yeah, I originally had a pair of convicts. Always loved them but didn't know much about them - until now. They were fine together with the peacocks and that's how I intended to leave it. Then they started hiding in the big cave I had bought. Then they stopped coming out. One would come out mainly. I thought the other was sick, but it came out every now and again, but his buddy would then stay in there. I'm sure all of you reading are laughing at the fact that this STILL didn't clue me in.

Wasn't until I put my reading glasses on that I noticed - what looked like some left over food floating around inside there. Then I looked closer, and ****, babies! About 50 of them!! I thought it funny, until the parents turned into little demons from hell that would die before letting anything near their babies! Even the peacocks were scared and just kind of clung to the glass at one side of the tank.

Anyway, rather than use the siphon which my better half suggested, I just advertised in craigslist and someone came and took everything for free. At least I think so. **** things were so small it's hard to tell if I got them all.

I heard they breed like rabbits and will just continue like that. Would be cool if they were actually worth something, but even 3 pet stores near me wouldn't take them for free!! But I couldn't kill the little guys, was too cool watching them stick near their parents when they moved around.

 

[PassengerTN]

I usually break out my cell phone and snap a photo of the tags of fish I like at LFS if its something I don't know anything about. That is unless my wife is with me, then she buys whatever is "pretty" haha

 

[stlrsfan]

I usually break out my cell phone and snap a photo of the tags of fish I like at LFS if its something I don't know anything about. That is unless my wife is with me, then she buys whatever is "pretty" haha

I tried luring my wife into letting me spend more money, on account of saving the new fishies life. She asked why I couldn't put him in my empty tank. I explained to her that my empty tank was 2.5 gallons, but she didn't understand. I went directly to the 75 and she told me to flush him!! She's not a fish person, but she'll spend a quarter million on the cat.

 

[stlrsfan]

So I went back last night. I knew 100% for sure that they screwed up the red star flower horn, and it was the Electric Blue Acara. I wondered why my older demasoni who was a juvenile was SO much more blue in the stripes and less whiteish. And of course you guys were right and this one is a Kenyi.

I kept the Kenyi since he's African, but he's kind of an aggressive bugger too, but only when threatened. Doesn't seem like the peacocks bother with him. The Acara had to go, in his best interest.

So now just the 3 in this smaller 30g setup, and they are juveniles. I may stay with just that and wait till I get a new 75g setup. Do you think 3 is about the max with these guys in a 30 for now? I know people will often stuff many in there, but I don't want tank issues. I'd rather my fish be happy in a clean tank, and I don't have to clean it 7x per week!!

 

[OsciTheOscar]

Not sure if anyone has shed light on this issue yet but you need to do complete research before mixing fish....

Just from what i read, you'll be a lot more successful if you do so.

I.e... you holding convicts with peacocks... no bueno. Also flower horns and peacocks... no bueno... and that demasoni you speak of is a kenyii...

Keep fish from central america with central american fish, african cichlids with african cichlids... so on and so forth...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[TMRC Exotics]

Agree with all previous posts and will take it a step further to suggest the kenyi may not work with the peacocks. I know you think the peacocks are aggressive now, but large kenyis are truly aggressive and will likely bother the peacocks.

Osci is right on, breeding convicts= bad with pretty much anything.
Flowerhorn= reach 12-15 inches and need to be kept alone. (That's mine Hensley posted on pg 1, (thanks Hensley and you were spot on with everything said in that post)
Also demasoni= no go with peacocks

 

[stlrsfan]

Agree with all previous posts and will take it a step further to suggest the kenyi may not work with the peacocks. I know you think the peacocks are aggressive now, but large kenyis are truly aggressive and will likely bother the peacocks.

Osci is right on, breeding convicts= bad with pretty much anything.
Flowerhorn= reach 12-15 inches and need to be kept alone. (That's mine Hensley posted on pg 1, (thanks Hensley and you were spot on with everything said in that post)
Also demasoni= no go with peacocks

Yeah, the Kenyi was my lack of knowledge, and thinking I was getting a Demasoni. He's back at the store now. The convicts were just a huge mistake on my part.

The flower horn was listed as "Red Star Flower Horn Cichlid" and I read that max size was 5-6". Now I find they are 10-12". I didn't research enough and relied on a crappy page.

Anyway, glad I found all of you guys! All I have no are just the 2 Peacocks.

But let me ask a question about them 2, and fighting... One seems to be much lighter than the other, and the other is not only darker, but has cool colors on his fins. He often chases after the lighter colored one, but I don't see any damage. And I really don't see any biting when I watch. Is it possible they are M/F and these 2 little beanheads might spawn if I'm not careful? Last thing I want to deal with is a tankful of babies, from any species!!

 

[TMRC Exotics]

Male and female aulonocara are aggressive breeders and will show those displays. A male is also more colorful than a female, however, a dominate male may also show aggression towards a lesser male and this aggression can cause the less dominate male to not show his full colors. A good pic of both will help.

Usually if left alone the fry won't survive and you won't have an explosion of new fish.

 

[stlrsfan]

Male and female aulonocara are aggressive breeders and will show those displays. A male is also more colorful than a female, however, a dominate male may also show aggression towards a lesser male and this aggression can cause the less dominate male to not show his full colors. A good pic of both will help.

Usually if left alone the fry won't survive and you won't have an explosion of new fish.

The one that is "shy" and is chased... Unfortunately, this one hides from the other. Usually this one is a pale looking color. Right now he/she is hiding and actually has a darker color showing, although bland. And now that I look closer, it looks like the top fin has in fact been bitten at a little?

This is the more aggressive one, and is always flying around the tank, and has coloring on the fin and gills.