Hi there— fish advice

[Marylizbella]

Hi!
I’m new here and I was wondering if I could get some advice...?!
Ok. So I’ve had cichlids before, ok?! But I’ve only had one. (A two year old red zebra(fred) I first had him in a three and half gallon tank, then when he got too big for that we moved up to a six gallon. And now we have him in a twenty gallon. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is when we got the twenty gallon we got two new cichlids a demisoni (little Ricky) and a bumblebee (Ethel), they were in the same tank at the pet store we went to. And now they’re locking lips. Is this something they do often?! Because I don’t want injuries and I’m pretty sure they are fighting, because the demisoni always chases the bumblebee into the corner.

Should I get a tank divider, or take one out of the tank, until it gets a little bigger?! Or should I just leave it alone, because I know that sometimes it means that they like each other. *wink wink*

I’m really sad, because I was really excited to get these new fish and now they are fighting, but not fighting with Fred the red zebra, who we thought would be the aggressor but nope, Fred’s just off in his own little world. To tell you the truth I don't even think he knows that they’re in there with him.?

Anyways, if you all could please get back to me that would be great!

Mary

 

[Delapool]

Could be fighting - are you able to rehome any back to store?

 

[Marylizbella]

Nope

No, we’ve already had them for a few months now and they’ve grown substantially. And I wouldn’t want to Rehome them... I love them. They’re my fish babies.

 

[King Fisher]

Sounds like aggression. I'd try a bigger tank to be honest. Africans need to be crowded in a big tank to curb aggression. And they should be in a 4 foot tank minimum. Best case, your fish will get diseased from stress and you'll be forced to seperate them. Worse case, the toughest one kills the other.

 

[Marylizbella]

Thanks!

Thanks for the advice! But I read online, if you get them hidey holes that it could relive some of the tension and so far, it looks all good. I’ll keep you guys updated as to what happens!
And as for disease I’m not really worried about that part, because they are all eating well and good. My tank is about 3 and a half feet long and about 2 feet deep so I’m not really worried about the size. I just saw them liplocking and got worried, so I decided to reach out...
Thanks again.
~Mary

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Thanks for the advice! But I read online, if you get them hidey holes that it could relive some of the tension and so far, it looks all good. I’ll keep you guys updated as to what happens!

And as for disease I’m not really worried about that part, because they are all eating well and good. My tank is about 3 and a half feet long and about 2 feet deep so I’m not really worried about the size. I just saw them liplocking and got worried, so I decided to reach out...

Thanks again.

~Mary

A 20g isn’t 3 1/2 feet by 2 feet, and as stated above you’ll want a bigger tank for these guys or the aggressive behavior will just return or they will become sick. That’s also going to be a big bio load for a 20 when they grow a little