Powder blue cichlid rescue

[TLMichele]

I rescued a powder blue cichlid who was killing everyone in a 75 gallon tank. I threw him into a tupperware, rushed to the closest pet store and bought the biggest aquarium kit they had- 5 gallons & a heater that keeps his tank between 74 ° and 80°. With the help from the people at prime, Uday (his new name) is healthy and dances when he sees me looking at him in my family room. I put his tank right next to my recliner because I feel sorry for him being all alone. When I'm not sitting next to him, he loves remodeling his tank.
My question is a 2 part.
1- Is it cruel to keep Uday in a 5 gallon tank?
2- If I get a larger tank should I get him a girlfriend?
I've been to several fish stores (where I've never gotten an honest answer because they want to sell me a bigger tank with more fish) and I found it pretty easy to sex them.
Uday is so sweet and personable and I want him to be happy, but I'm not sure if he wants companionship (he's added an egg spot since I saved him- 4).
Thank you in advanced!

 

[Brookster123]

What kind of fish??pics??

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[TLMichele]

Powder blue cichlid. This is what he looks like (but not a pic of him- Uday is way better looking- LOL).

 

[OsciTheOscar]

Theres a male/female ratio that you'll need to relatively follow. At this point youll need to get a bigger tank but in the same tokem the aggression should fall a bit

 

[TLMichele]

I really want to know if powder blue cichlids can be happy alone or if they live in a community in the wild. If he can live alone, what is an appropriate size tank for 1 powder blue cichlid.
Sorry if my questions were ambiguous.

 

[OsciTheOscar]

Im sure they could live alone but really the fish have been with millions of other fish their whole lives. How big is the fish? He may be aggessive simply cause he wants to make babies.

 

[TLMichele]

Again sorry for being ambiguous- He is not aggressive now.
In the wild, do they prefer to live alone or in a community? If they're community fish, do they stay with their own PBC or live among other breeds of cichlids? He's aprox 4 inches, but I don't know how big they get in the wild. If they like living alone I'd like to buy a forever tank to suit his size when he's full grown.
Perhaps there is someone on this forum who owns PBC and knows their preferences?

 

[OsciTheOscar]

I have... i guess im just beating around the bush...

Wild is wild... there a ton of fish in different parts of the lakes. They are generally community fish as its kind of hard to avoid the millions of other fish in the open lakes...

Ive kept them with red zebras, yellow labs, acai, rustys, etc... all very successful.

Alone, will probably be fine but naturally community...

 

[nirbhao]

I'm curious about this 75 gallon he came from. Are you asking if his aggression in that tank is uncharacteristic?

 

[TMRC Exotics]

Most of these questions are unnecessary, Uday is an African cichlid, they live in pretty dense populations in the wild, this is irrelevant though with a captive bred fish. Ideally no this fish can't be kept alone, it should be in a cichlid tank of over 55 gallons with its own kind. This fish can't be kept in 5 gallons more than a few hours, any more is torture. A forever home for one or 12 is a 55 gallon period.

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[OsciTheOscar]

I agree with exotics...

I should have added that a 5 gal tank wouldnt work.

 

[Tpalmer]

If u want to mimic his natural environment you should get 3 or 4 females and a 55 gal tank. If u just have him by himself without any other fish in there then he'll be fine in a 40 gal at the least. The reason he's so aggressive is cause he's pretty much bred to fight for his corner of space in order to survive. Alone he shouldn't need as much space and a 40 gal has plenty of space for him only if he's entirely by himself which may be boring for him. Get him his Harlem of women fish and a 55 gal. U'll have babies and a nice community soon enough.

 

[TMRC Exotics]

I would say on the absolute worst, if you were interested in keeping only him and no other fish he could live in a 20 long. Most mbuna don't reach but around 5 inches, he would probably get by in a 30 inch tank. If you want to keep a group a 55 or 40 breeder will be a must. Again, this is my opinion, everyone may not agree.

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[SherLar]

As an added plus, he'll show even better colors if he has females to strut for.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Ideally no this fish can't be kept alone, it should be in a cichlid tank of over 55 gallons with its own kind. This fish can't be kept in 5 gallons more than a few hours, any more is torture. A forever home for one or 12 is a 55 gallon period.

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Completely agree with this. He needs a bigger tank for sure. Right now you say he is in a heated tank without a filter. You need to change his water daily until you get a bigger tank set up. Don't worry too much, you're not the first person to do this, you won't be the last, and you'll have a really good grasp on things very soon.

Please read this. It will save you many headaches.
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/?p=43

 

[nturner1967]

How can you tell if he's aggressive anymore if he's alone? Just curious