Help Fish not getting along!

[Maxkolbe]

HEre's the scenario-
our cobalt blue was the tank boss ever since the tank was set up, he is with a yellow lab(female) 2 red zebras and 1 blue zebra (all males)
When we removed him to treat him for a mouth fungus the larger red zebra became boss
Now that I've put him back the two fish started going for each other's throats! (literally)

I had to use the net (and the better part of my arm to break up the fight.
They seem to have been avoiding each other for the past few minutes but I'm worried that they'll start it up again.

Is this behavior just until they get a new pecking order set up or will it last longer than that? (how long would this take anyways?)

My current course of action was to turn off the lights and feed some spirulina flakes to distract the fish, does this sound like a good idea.

Lastly we rearranged the rocks roughly a week before reintroducing the fish if that information helps.

 

[a.tetreault]

How big is your tank? Personally I think either keeping to one species or having at least small groups of each species to overstock is the best way to help with aggression. It spreads out aggression, sorry I can't give better advice this is just my opinion

 

[Maxkolbe]

The tank is sixty gallons. fortunately they don't seem to be fighting as much, I believe the cobalt is reinstating his claim as dominant male, I'll post how they're doing in the morning.

 

[Jmedic25]

You could re arrange the deco...Confuse them a bit

 

[Maxkolbe]

I would except that the last time I did they got so stressed that now they are super paranoid when it comes to people. Whenever someone goes by the tank they all hide until the are absolutely sure there is no danger. It makes a really disappointing picture when you're trying to show off your fish to your guests.

 

[Jmedic25]

Are you way understocked?

 

[Maxkolbe]

I don't think so
My stock list looks like this
1 cobalt zebra
2red zebras
1 blue zebra
1 yellow lab
1 feather fin syndontis
1 bristle nose Pleco

I also have 1 cobalt / electric yellow hybrid that I will put in this tank when he gets big enough.

 

[Jmedic25]

Im not sure what filter your running...But Id say you are quite understocked. How old is this setup. I would say with good filtration you could have 20 fish..None of your fish get super large..

 

[Maxkolbe]

I'm running a marine land 350 and a powerhead (forgot brand) that moves 750 gallons per hour

As far as my stock IMO it would be cruel to cram twenty five-inch fish into my current setup. I'm also not the most religious about water changes so I figure that under stocked is better. I like it where it is though, less fish means you get to really see each individual's personality.

 

[Maxkolbe]

Forgot to say that there have been fish in the tank for about a month since I finished my fishless cycle. I've redecorated a couple of times though to make it easier to net the cobalt so I could treat him. Those zebras are impossible to catch if they have enough spots to hide.

 

[Jmedic25]

I understand how you feel...But you are incorrect. If you overstock you will make the fish healthier in the sense of aggression. Yes its more load on the filter and you may have to change water more. Most Mbuna tanks are overstocked for that very reason. If they arent open water swimming most of the time they are stressed. Think of it like an 8th grade dance floor. (the first one out gets beat up or laughed at) But if the floor is full of kids, everyone dances...Get it LOL!

 

[CraigMac]

Agree with Jmedic. If you keep it under stocked I think you will continue to have aggression issues. And the some of your less dominant fish will go into hiding and you'll never see their personality anyway

Your best bet is to get your stock up to 15-20 fish IMO.

 

[Malawi Freak]

If you are set on not adding more fish your only option is to change the decorations around, if it's just rocks change up the tunnels to create new territories. When adding fish even though he was existing it is recommended to do so in order to not focus the attention on one fish.

I would recommend though adding some more to the tank. I keep close to 70 fish in my 125, about 50 are cichlids.

 

[a.tetreault]

I think you should bring up the stock a bit, even if it's just four of each it would help a lot with the aggression issues you are having.

 

[kelbaker79]

You're way understocked imo, maybe rethink the idea of adding more? That's the way I would go, it will help a lot...

Good Luck!!!

 

[Maxkolbe]

Well apparently they have settled whatever issues there were between them because the cobalt seems to have reinstated his claim as tank boss.
I will look into possibly getting a pair of Johanis though, they are really cool. The only problem is that they sell out so quickly at my LFS that they never have any and the ones at petsmart are so small I'm afraid that they'll get killed if I put them in with my other fish. Do you think this would be a problem?

 

[CraigMac]

Tell you LFS what you want and to let you know when they will come in. They may hold a couple for you if they know you're coming in, mine does.

 

[Maxkolbe]

The big problem is that the nearest LFS is a 40 minute drive so if we get there and they don't have what we want then it's a big disappointment.
However the petsmart is much nearer and they carry johanies.

You don't think that the larger fish would bully them if they were too small do you?

 

[Ckennedy37]

In my 55g I have about 20 fish and most are cichlids 3 to 4 inches long including a 5 or 6 inch JD. I also have a few demasoni that are an inch long at the biggest. I have rock piles in my tank that give them plenty of hiding places if any of my bigger fish try getting them

 

[Malawi Freak]

Talk to whoever orders fish at your lfs, they receive weekly faxes/emails of what the breeders they order from have in stock. They can order what you want depending upon availability, you can even request a male and female. Petsmart does not special order.