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DarthGS

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Oct 21, 2019
Messages
8
My wife picked up an aquarium from a friend a little while back. We are new to this and need a bit of advice!

It is a 30 gallon tank that came with a pair of African Cichlids. An all orange one, about 10 years old and a younger blue and black striped one who is about 3 months old.

Long story short, we got a Red-tailed Black shark about a week ago to add to the tank but he is getting messed up by the smaller Cichlid.

The larger orange one doesn't really care to much about the little guy, but the smaller blue and black striped Cichlids a straight up bully!

It's crazy; the big cihclid chases the medium cichlid and the medium cichlid chases the red tailed around.

I'm going to pick up a 55 gallon tank tomorrow and want to know a couple of things.

Should I move all 3 fish to this larger tank and add more hiding spots? I assume it's a space issue and he doesn't have enough room

Should I just move the red tail to the larger tank by himself? I feel like this is counter intuitive.

Should I move the Cichlids to the larger tank and leave the red tailed in the 30 gallon till he is a bit bigger and can stand his ground better?

What other options do I have?
 

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Do I have enough time to setup the new tank or should I prep it in the afternoon and move him right away.
I'm afraid that I don't have enough time to cycle the new tank properly for him.
Should I take some of the current tank water and set him aside for a few days in a temporary container?

What's the best course of action...please advise.
 
Thanks for the advice. I will take him back to the store tomorrow.

Will the other two be fine together? The bigger one chases the smaller one too but no signs of physical injury.
 
If they've been together for a while they could be ok. Africans are not my area, I know where is a trick to keeping them, aggression is a big part. Basics would have you keeping 10-12 in a 55 gal min. If this is a rescue type situation I'd say do your best with what you have and dont add anything else until you've read up a bit.
 
Thanks, I didn't know we were getting fish with the aquarium. Been trying to research as much as I can as quickly as possible.
She had a tank previously with a turtle and I agreed to getting the tank assuming that's where this was heading.
Like I always say....this is why we can't have anything nice.
 
You have aggressive fish in a small tank. For starters, most of the time African cichlids need to be over stocked to stop aggression and a 30g tank isn't big enough for the ones you have. Plus I couldn't imagine adding a rts being with African cichlids.

It's like you have put 3 pitbulls in a small room and wondering why they fight.

If you can take the 3 fish to a aquarium, I could help you restock it with better fish ����

Edit

Sorry missed the part about the 55g. I'm not a expert on African cichlids but if you want to keep both AC I would be adding a few more to try and stop aggression. It's a bit of a guessing game. Never ever add only one or two fish. Do it in fives or more if possible and get rid of the Rts.

Check out KG topicals on youtube, he is a AC expert.

Or get rid of those wanna be cichlids and get proper cichlids aka south American ��

If you need any help let me know, I have breed fish and worked in the aquarium trade for years
 
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One of the reasons I got the RTS was that according to TropicalFishCareGuides website it was 2nd on the list. I liked the look of this fish and wanted to have more than 2 fish in the tank.

Now, I know I have no clue what I am doing here, but it's to the point where everyone has their own opinion and that doesn't help me learn properly in the long run.

The 55 gallon is finished setting up and I have moved the AC's; which I used a majority of the 30 gallon water to perform more of a water cycle than a full new setup.

The smaller AC now hides most of the time from the bigger one and barely comes out to swim. The folks that we got the fish and 30 gallon tank apparently said to not add anymore fish. I guess I missed that memo when getting the RTS.

If I add 5 or more fish, and additional decor for hiding, what would you recommend?

Would it be best to get 5 of the same kind or a variety?

I'm afraid the big guy will just bully anything I put in the tank at this point. Another concern is that the smaller AC will also join in on the bullying.

Pardon the long winded responses!

To any moderators; I'm sorry if mentioning a website is against the rules. I wanted to cite my source for my reasoning for getting the RTS.

EDIT:
I watched all 3 videos on the YouTube channel that you recommended. Now I have more questions; although it was very helpful.

He mentioned having to "take care of females" if I buy a bunch of unsexed fish. Is it bad having males and females in the same tank? I don't want to buy fish just to murder them later down the road.

He also mentioned that my new fish need to be larger than the Mbuna that I have but he is already an adult (8yo). I feel like I am stuck between a rock and hard place. I am not a millionaire that can blow hundreds of dollars on mature fish; especially if they will still be bullied.
 

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Did u transfer the filter to the 55 as well? Using the water will do nothing to help you cycle the new tank. While far from an African expert, 1 thing I know is you’ll want to add a lot more rock work for them to form territories. And I believe the reason you want males instead of pairs is once they form a pair or produce eggs/fry they become insanely aggressive
 
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