Bully

[Flossie]

To make a long story short... I read something I believe hukit posted about a fish being ok as long as it is not exiled
( obviously in a certain scenario). Well I have been noticing some strange behavior from 2 of my cichlids... Lake Malawi... One stays up at the top kinda ( I thought he was just weird) and another stays on one side of the tank often behind the filter... She tries to come out until her boyfriend sees her and then it's back to her spot ( these 2 have spawned a couple times or was in the act) I have no idea what my ratios are or how to tell M/F
I mostly worried about the one that stays behind the filter. She don't seem to fight but just runs she stays faded... I'm sure my ratios are all off but I got them young and have no idea how to tell M/F is this common for African cichlids? I currently only have 8 would adding more be the solution ?? Advice... Please in newbie terms

 

[Oblivion]

dont add any more until you can tell the gender and species of fish you currently have and sorted out the tank bullying

then you can buy more fish (if needed) to balance things out rather than just adding more fish into the problem.

fish hiding near the filter powerhead, heater tube, or floating near the trickle tray inlet of my tank is the first warning sign its feeling stressed out and needs to get away.
even though there are lots of lava caves and texas holey rock around, sometimes a breeding or dominant male can command enough tank space to scare your 'biggest whimp' to death without really mauling him.

what type of fish do you currently have, and whats their approx size?

 

[Flossie]

dont add any more until you can tell the gender and species of fish you currently have and sorted out the tank bullying

then you can buy more fish (if needed) to balance things out rather than just adding more fish into the problem.

fish hiding near the filter powerhead, heater tube, or floating near the trickle tray inlet of my tank is the first warning sign its feeling stressed out and needs to get away.
even though there are lots of lava caves and texas holey rock around, sometimes a breeding or dominant male can command enough tank space to scare your 'biggest whimp' to death without really mauling him.

what type of fish do you currently have, and whats their approx size?

Honestly I don't know. I got them from my Lfs from an assorted African cichlid tank.... I think I have 2 blue johannis. 1 red zebra 2 solid yellow ones I'm not sure what they are and 2 albino looking white ones and then the blue aggressive one that changes from yellow to black and blue. Lol sorry I'm a newbie to cichlids

 

[absolutangel04]

Put up pictures. that always helps.

 

[WendiDell]

This isn't 100% accurate but it will help. How many of your fish have egg shaped bright yellow spots on their anal fin?
There will be others here on AA that say this doesn't work, But like I said, IT'S NOT 100% accurate, it's a general guideline that's all.
There are only 2 ways to know 100%. One is called venting and is best left to experts. It involves holding your fish belly up and examining the reproductive parts. Great eyesight is a must for this.
The second way is to wait to see who has fry and who doesn't. Although this way isn't very practical.
If you have Electric Yellow labs, you won't see any egg spots. But the Male labs have thicker more dominant black markings than the female labs do. Or if you get any Kenyi, when they are fry and juvies they all look identical. Not even a hint as to who's who. But somewhere around 6-7 months the male Kenyi will change from their nice blue to a Yellow/orange if they are a dominant male and a Yellow/blue if not. Either way the boys turn yellow.
You can find a lot of helpful information online about how to identify the gender on different cichlids.
Although some cichlids, like the Arautus, can change genders if there is a gender imbalance. This may only occur in nature and not in captivity, I'm not sure, but it's worth knowing.

Post some picks, look for bright yellow egg spots & maybe we can all figure this out together. The M:F ratio is pretty important.

 

[Flossie]

This isn't 100% accurate but it will help. How many of your fish have egg shaped bright yellow spots on their anal fin?
There will be others here on AA that say this doesn't work, But like I said, IT'S NOT 100% accurate, it's a general guideline that's all.
There are only 2 ways to know 100%. One is called venting and is best left to experts. It involves holding your fish belly up and examining the reproductive parts. Great eyesight is a must for this.
The second way is to wait to see who has fry and who doesn't. Although this way isn't very practical.
If you have Electric Yellow labs, you won't see any egg spots. But the Male labs have thicker more dominant black markings than the female labs do. Or if you get any Kenyi, when they are fry and juvies they all look identical. Not even a hint as to who's who. But somewhere around 6-7 months the male Kenyi will change from their nice blue to a Yellow/orange if they are a dominant male and a Yellow/blue if not. Either way the boys turn yellow.
You can find a lot of helpful information online about how to identify the gender on different cichlids.
Although some cichlids, like the Arautus, can change genders if there is a gender imbalance. This may only occur in nature and not in captivity, I'm not sure, but it's worth knowing.

Post some picks, look for bright yellow egg spots & maybe we can all figure this out together. The M:F ratio is pretty important.

Thank u very much I'm going to post some pics so u that are more experienced can give me your opinion

two of these albino kenyi???

one red zebra

two blue johannis???

two yellow... Idk???

this is my meanie! Lol he has spawned with the blue johanni thats stays hidden....

 

[Oblivion]

1st pic doesnt show enough details for my limited experience

2nd pic probably a red zebra is my guess

3rd pic could very well be melanochromis interruptus, it has the broken line down its side. maingano has a solid line. i thought johanni had solid line too? not quite sure. hopefully someone can confirm/deny ??

4th pic - not sure, but the red eyes tell me it might be an albino something ??
i have albino peacocks and they have a light yellowy orange colour, its not a strong solid vibrant orange colour though like a red zebra has.

the shape of the mouth being so pointy and narrow reminds me of my peacocks.

i cant guess on the last guy, so many blue fish out there and i cant see any strong indicators or markings that im familiar with.

 

[Flossie]

1st pic doesnt show enough details for my limited experience

2nd pic probably a red zebra is my guess

3rd pic could very well be melanochromis interruptus, it has the broken line down its side. maingano has a solid line. i thought johanni had solid line too? not quite sure. hopefully someone can confirm/deny ??

4th pic - not sure, but the red eyes tell me it might be an albino something ??
i have albino peacocks and they have a light yellowy orange colour, its not a strong solid vibrant orange colour though like a red zebra has.

the shape of the mouth being so pointy and narrow reminds me of my peacocks.

i cant guess on the last guy, so many blue fish out there and i cant see any strong indicators or markings that im familiar with.

Lol yeah they are toughies! I appreciate the help thus far

 

[WendiDell]

The first pics are to small and to fuzzy for me to see enough detail.
But the last one is clear enough for me to see that it is male and from his color and markings I'm fairly certain that he's a Pseudotropheus Socolofi.
They are a bit different than most African cichlids from Lake Malawi. The main thing is, that they are herbivores, not omnivores.
They need a vegetables rich diet. There is a lot of info about them online.
The second photo does appear to be a female Red Zebra, but it may change as it gets older.
The fourth one is an Albino, but I can't tell anything else about it from the photo.
If you can get some larger more clear photos of the rest of them? I will try to give you more information.

 

[Flossie]

The first pics are to small and to fuzzy for me to see enough detail.
But the last one is clear enough for me to see that it is male and from his color and markings I'm fairly certain that he's a Pseudotropheus Socolofi.
They are a bit different than most African cichlids from Lake Malawi. The main thing is, that they are herbivores, not omnivores.
They need a vegetables rich diet. There is a lot of info about them online.
The second photo does appear to be a female Red Zebra, but it may change as it gets older.
The fourth one is an Albino, but I can't tell anything else about it from the photo.
If you can get some larger more clear photos of the rest of them? I will try to give you more information.

Oh sorry. I have been using my phone app. Maybe I can get some better pics up soon.

 

[Flossie]

Maybe a video will help

 

[HUKIT]

1 is Metriaclima greshakei (Albino)
2 is Metriaclima estherae
3 is Melanochromis johannii
4 is Labidochromis caeruleus (Albino)
5 is I'm undecided without closer pictures.

The johanni hiding in the upper right is clearly hiding and is a victim of aggression. The stock of this tank needs to be given some further thought in terms of genus and male to female ratio's. I'm not sure what size tank it is so that would help.

 

[Flossie]

1 is Metriaclima greshakei (Albino)
2 is Metriaclima estherae
3 is Melanochromis johannii
4 is Labidochromis caeruleus (Albino)
5 is I'm undecided without closer pictures.

The johanni hiding in the upper right is clearly hiding and is a victim of aggression. The stock of this tank needs to be given some further thought in terms of genus and male to female ratio's. I'm not sure what size tank it is so that would help.

It's a 55g and yeah I'm asking for help bc I have never had African cichlids before. These were all mixed at my Lfs

I bought them young and I don't know how to tell male from female...

 

[HUKIT]

In a 55g you can support 3 genus of fish, to reduce the chances of hybrids and aggression. Start with juvies then buy extras, rehome fish when a hyper aggressive fish or extra males are idenified with a final stock number of around 15 fish when stocked 1m/4f. Don't try and ID fish by egg spots since the majority of females will have the also. Here's a good article on venting with pictures, it's very easy once you know what your looking for.

Male or Female?

 

[Flossie]

In a 55g you can support 3 genus of fish, to reduce the chances of hybrids and aggression. Start with juvies then buy extras, rehome fish when a hyper aggressive fish or extra males are idenified with a final stock number of around 15 fish when stocked 1m/4f. Don't try and ID fish by egg spots since the majority of females will have the also. Here's a good article on venting with pictures, it's very easy once you know what your looking for.

Male or Female?

Thanks hukit .... So I need to trade in the bully and try and figure out male and females?? Sorry I'm so oblivious to this

 

[HUKIT]

Thanks hukit .... So I need to trade in the bully and try and figure out male and females?? Sorry I'm so oblivious to this

There will always be a dominant fish in the tank, if you rehome this one the one that takes his place could be worse. I would pick three fish species whether some of your current stock stays or not is up to you. When selecting fish stay away from similar looking fish even from different genus(like blue barring) to prevent aggression. I would pick Hongi, Saulosi, and Rustys would give you alot of color with low aggression, but I'm not sure what's available locally.

 

[Flossie]

There will always be a dominant fish in the tank, if you rehome this one the one that takes his place could be worse. I would pick three fish species whether some of your current stock stays or not is up to you. When selecting fish stay away from similar looking fish even from different genus(like blue barring) to prevent aggression. I would pick Hongi, Saulosi, and Rustys would give you alot of color with low aggression, but I'm not sure what's available locally.

Thanks. I'm sorry I'm trying to learn... I think it gets a little confusing with cichlids. Hopefully I'll get the hang of it lol

Ok so keeping what I have can be an option? I just need to be careful in choosing new fish... Around 15 right ?

I worried about another taking his place if I got rid of him. I would love to keep what I have and maybe go from there if possible but I would like to have a well balanced aquarium so if that means rehoming or trading I suppose I can do that

 

[HUKIT]

Keeping all the fish you have with 4-5 genus is not a option at this time IMO, so if your sticking with some of the ones you have select three then start filling out the stock list and rehoming what doesn't fit. I normally purchase at least 8-10 of each species when small then start weeding out the males to get down to roughly 5 fish per genus.

 

[Flossie]

Keeping all the fish you have with 4-5 genus is not a option at this time IMO, so if your sticking with some of the ones you have select three then start filling out the stock list and rehoming what doesn't fit. I normally purchase at least 8-10 of each species when small then start weeding out the males to get down to roughly 5 fish per genus.

Oh ok ok I'm sorry I'm A little slow... Lol lol