Cichlids-Won't Get Along

[animallover09]

I have two electric yellow cichlids-one female and one male is what the fish store owner said. The female is quite larger than the male, pretty much double his size. I have had them for almost a month now. They came home to a 20 gallon tank that has two castles and other decorations in it to hide in. The first week went well. They acted fine around each other for a week. The male would stay hide in the castles the whole week, would only come out at night time, and would rarely eat. Then one morning during the second week I saw the female chasing the male around in circles in the tank. The male would get so tired of trying to get away from her that he would be tired and float to the top. At first, I thought this was their way of breeding but then I noticed that she was nipping at his tail. He ended up losing half of his tail in this battle. I couldn't watch her kill him so I took him out and put him in a one gallon aquarium for now. A week later, I tried reintroducing him back into the tank with her but she still tried to kill him. So he is still in his one gallon tank and his tail is almost grown back. He isn't shy anymore and actually eats better now. He seems a lot happier in his one gallon tank than with the female cichlid.

Can someone help me figure out why she is so mean to him? And will I be able to put him back in the tank with her when he gets older and bigger?

 

[mikem691]

The 20 is to small for them.

 

[trkchezz]

Are you sure one is male and one female? Did you add them at the same time?

Do a water change, lower the temp 5 degrees, rearrange the tank, turn the lights out add the male leave the lights off for 48 hours, raise the temp back to normal. if this doesn't help you going to have to return him.

I might be wrong but I think a 20 is too small.

 

[Jakepen]

A twenty gallon is to small for cichlids, they need a lot of space and places to hide. Also unless he saw the female holding eggs, there is no way to tell if it's a female or male, so you could have two males, and if that's the case the bigger one will kill the smaller one. If the bigger one is actually a male, and if the smaller is a female, he will kill her. Also having a cichlid in a one gallon won't work for long.

 

[Jakepen]

Don't lower the temp five degrees. All that would do is make them cold and less active, not a long term fix. And nut m not good for the fish.

 

[trkchezz]

Don't lower the temp five degrees. All that would do is make them cold and less active, not a long term fix. And nut m not good for the fish.

That is only to confuse the fish to thinking its a new tank, its not a long term fix.
It should be done slowly over a one day period. Its worked for me.

 

[mikem691]

The smallest recomended tank i saw on the sites said 50 long 4ft.
Scientific Name(s): Labidochromis caeruleus

Common Name(s): Yellow lab, Electric yellow lab, Canary cichlid

Family: Cichlidae

Species Type: African Cichlids, Lake Malawi

Maximum Size: 4 inches

Life Span: 10 years

Natural Habitat: African Lake Malawi

Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons

Tank Region: All over

 

[animallover09]

Okay! Thank you everyone! I really appreciate the advice and wish I would have researched more before buying these type of fish instead of trusting the fish store owner. I am currently looking for a 55 gallon tank for a good price but they will have to stay in the tanks they are in for now. I do believe that they seem happy and content where they are. I just feel so bad for the male fish having to stay in that one gallon tank but he seems happier in that tank. Thank you!

 

[Jakepen]

Okay! Thank you everyone! I really appreciate the advice and wish I would have researched more before buying these type of fish instead of trusting the fish store owner. I am currently looking for a 55 gallon tank for a good price but they will have to stay in the tanks they are in for now. I do believe that they seem happy and content where they are. I just feel so bad for the male fish having to stay in that one gallon tank but he seems happier in that tank. Thank you!

Lfs owners will tell you just about anything to make a sale, most of the time. And your doing the right thing, looking for a 55 gallon to home them in.

 

[animallover09]

Round 2

Ok. I managed to borrow a tank from a family member that I researched on aqadvisor.com and found that it is a 47.9 gallon tank with a Marineland Penguin 200B.

Here is my plan (and please be honest on what you think I should do): Set up the new aquarium today and let it cycle with no fish in it. Put the smaller fish that is in the one gallon tank in the new aquarium with the castle that it came with and the two castles from my other tank in the new aquarium to help with hiding spots. Let the smaller fish get accustom to the bigger tank for a couple of days and then introduce the bigger female fish into the smaller fish's tank. Im thinking that maybe if I introduce her into that tank, the smaller fish will have grown territorial to his tank and the bigger female may not be as aggressive.

If this doesn't work, I will still have my other 20 gallon tank (which I found to actually be a 29 gallon-but I know is still too small) , if they still can't get along.

Also, I know that this website (aqadvisor.com) says that I need one male to four female in a group, but I am nervous to go buy more of these cichlids and put them in this tank and they end up not getting along. I don't have enough backup tanks for that problem. Also, Im afraid if I got more cichlids, I would end up with the wrong male to female ratio.

Please help me in what to do!

 

[trkchezz]

Try adding them at the same time, use filter media from an established tank to jump start your cycle.

 

[animallover09]

Ok. I dont think i can use the old filter in my 29 gallon tank to put in the 48 gallon because my bigger fish would need a filter. Unless i put a new filter in the 29 gallon tank.

Also, what would be a faster way to get the 48 gallon tank cycled so that i can get the smaller fish out of the one gallon tank?

 

[trkchezz]

Are you keeping your 29 running?

 

[animallover09]

Yes, the 29 tank will stay on.

 

[trkchezz]

I would do a 50% WC and put the used water in the 48 then put the filter from the 29 on the 48 and new filter on the 48, unless there is a way to remove just half the filter media like with a whisper 60.
Test your water daily, give it a week or longer, if your tests are not correct. Then put the correct filters on their correct tanks you should be good from there.

 

[animallover09]

Ok. However, i just did a 40% WC on Thursday. Would this hurt to do it again? Also, what if i put the aquarium rocks that are in the 29 gallon and put them in the 48, then put new rocks in the 29v

 

[trkchezz]

Wouldn't hurt to do a wc or adding as much as you could to the new tank.