Some Aggression Advice

[trustemedia]

Need some advice on the best thing to do for now and for the long run. My Xenotilapia Ochrogenys Ndole Bay wants a female badly and courts her to the point of even chasing her when she snubs him. He pretty much is not letting anyone else even near the sand in the entire tank expect himself and the female he has taken a liking to. He chases everyone onto ledges, behind rock piles, and even searches them out behind rock piles, just to nip, chase, and harrass them some more on purpose. He's being a little sh*t.

I have 30 gallon sitting empty right now. I am torn between whether I should remove him and her and put them into the 30 for awhile and see what happens, removing the breeding pair, the aggression, and maybe getting the spawn to happen when they are alone and then things will settle down. Or I have a group of shellies in the corner of the tank and I could put the entire shellie group into the 30 freeing up that corner of the tank which opens up more sand and room for more rocks and hiding places for the those being chased.

On one hand I feel moving the shellies doesn't stop the aggression in the tank, but does provide more hiding places, room, and the shellies may need to be moved when they get bigger and more territorial? Maybe? On the other hand, if I move the male and female aggressors (she was actually chasing other fish today as well), will another one become the dominant one of the tank and I'm back to square one with a chaser "in heat".

Suggestions?

 

[trustemedia]

Well, I didn't get any suggestions, so I did what I thought would be best and removed the aggressor and his woman. They really didn't like being by themselves very much. A new male decided to be the dominant one, as I thought would happen, and proceeded to not let anyone on the sand either. Guess it doesn't matter who is "the boss" or if there is a female to court or not. They are all just being bossy. Decided to add more rock and plants to break up more lines of sight and put the two back where they would be happier. That just started a fight for dominance since the old dominant male was back and then the other males tried to get in on the action. It lasted over 10 minutes. But, now everything is back to normal. Only telling you this so someone else in my situation can read my example and see what they would like to try according to their situation. Just glad all back to normal and the new plants and couple rocks to segment the bottom seem to be helping, plus I'm sure he's tired by now. LOL We'll see what tomorrow brings.

 

[mikem691]

Here is a little info on them. You may have already seen this. It recomends 10 females to 1 male.
Xenotilapia ochrogenys "Ndole Bay"

 

[trustemedia]

I did see it, thanks. I did a ton, and I mean a ton, of research before I got them. I read that article you linked to as well as some others mentioning people keeping them in pairs and some saying 2-3 females per male. That's actually the only one I read recommending a ratio like that. I did a Google and Bing search on them and read every article known to man prior to introducing them into the tank. Bottom line was a lot of different stories and everyone recommending something different. I currently have 9 females and 4 males (I hope), as they are young and growing. I anticipate as they age I may wind up with a different scenario. I'm also not used to cichlids so not used to any aggression so determining what's normal and not isn't easy. No one is killing each other in there, but there is a lot of chasing and a head butt or nibble to "stay put in the corner where you belong". I felt bad they are in corners and I had read (I do a lot of reading) that it happens. But, I want my occupants happy. He just seemed to get a bit more aggressive over the last few days, dive bombing smaller fish and more nibbling and she (his girlfriend) is in on the act now, too, chasing other fish. My hope was they would be alone and the tank would settle down and they would do their thing. Unfortunately, the tank stayed the same as the next one came into power, so what was the point of putting them in time out- felt like I did it for nothing. I love them. They are by far my favorite. They are an awesome fish! I wouldn't give them up for anything, so making them happy and making sure everyone else is happy around them in my priority.