Flower horn terror???

[Loudog21]

Have a sm/med flower horn with an Oscar, a JD, and a blood parrot cichlid all the same size. They are in a 55 gal. Tank. The fh is getting very aggressive lately, starting to chase all the others. They've all been together for a couple of months now. Should I pull the fh now? Or wait to see if it gets better??? Any advice?? So far no " direct hits" that I've seen!!

 

[Mrc8858]

It's gonna keep getting worse and worse..none of those fish should be together especially in a tank that size..sorry to tell ya : /

 

[HUKIT]

Flowerhorns do not appreciate tankmates and if your having problems now wait till the fish reaches maturity, then nipping turns to killing. A 55g is only suitable for a single flowerhorn long term. You'll also need to address the rest of the stock at some point as as well.

 

[Loudog21]

Well, just to update. The fh is still just chasing the others. They will hide and "BFH" will find and flush them out, but that's about it. No hits yet!!! I'll just watch em. The blood parrot hides most of the time. Comes out to eat and swims around once and awhile. Is this normal for a blood parrot? Is he just scared of BFH??

 

[jetajockey]

No, it's not normal, they are hiding because they are scared. The constant stress may eventually lead to them getting sick and dying, as well.

 

[Loudog21]

Ok, time to rethink

 

[jetajockey]

Yeah it wouldn't hurt to go over the stocking plan again. It's already having issues now and it will only get worse in time. The oscar is a big potential issue as well.

 

[Loudog21]

The Oscar holds his own, he aggresses the JD sometimes.. I've been looking at dwarf cichlids.. Some are very beautiful and are less aggressive as i understand.

 

[Loudog21]

I'm also wondering how many I can get away with in my 55 gal.

 

[jetajockey]

What I meant about the oscar is that they get very large, so much so that most even recommend a 55g/75g minimum for a single one with no tankmates.

Definitely no dwarf cichlids, don't add anything till you get the stocking resolved. In general though dwarf cichlids don't mix well with medium and large cichlids.

Your current issue is that you have multiple large and incompatible cichlid species in a tank that is too small to house them long term.

 

[Sa1nt]

Flowerhorns do not appreciate tankmates and if your having problems now wait till the fish reaches maturity, then nipping turns to killing. A 55g is only suitable for a single flowerhorn long term. You'll also need to address the rest of the stock at some point as as well.

Agree totally with Hukit.
I used to have only 2 FH in a 75g tank. The dominant one would harass the other until it was constantly hiding behind the pump, with missing scale and torn fin. It didn't even dare to come out to eat, I ended up selling both to separate people.
They are beautiful fish and very interactive, but best to have a tank of their own, just my experience.

 

[Loudog21]

I'm finding a lot of truth in that, from experience!!