haleybeth30
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2013
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- 880
looks good, love the flamebacks
Pissed at my cichlids
- Thread starter Dubs1281
- Start date
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Three approaches you can take
1) Less stock - give them some more space for territory and they should fight less... but with cichlids you may feel that your tank looks empty at the "right" stock levels, as they like bigger territories than we'd assume
2) More stock - heavy overstocking helps to spread the aggression out so that you don't get one or two bullied to death... although if done wrong can make the problem worse.
3) More hiding spaces and decoration: break lines of sight and chases will be shorter and less vicious. Give more places to hide (not just caves, things to hide under or behind etc all help)
And also take a look at your male/female ratios. You want a lot more females than males where possible
It's hard to have too much decoration in an African cichlid tank, and I think this is a big problem in yours - the decoration is very low and your fish are mostly above it, so they can see each other most of the time leading to aggression. Similarly in a chase they are in open water so the chasing can be prolonged leading to stress. Once a fish is stressed it is more likely to be picked on by others as they see it as weak.
I'd be tempted to get some aquarium silicone and slate or rocks and make some higher decorations by sticking rocks together. Bury them deep in the substrate (wriggle them as you put them in to get them nearly onto the base glass) and give them a wide base to stop them falling over.
1) Less stock - give them some more space for territory and they should fight less... but with cichlids you may feel that your tank looks empty at the "right" stock levels, as they like bigger territories than we'd assume
2) More stock - heavy overstocking helps to spread the aggression out so that you don't get one or two bullied to death... although if done wrong can make the problem worse.
3) More hiding spaces and decoration: break lines of sight and chases will be shorter and less vicious. Give more places to hide (not just caves, things to hide under or behind etc all help)
And also take a look at your male/female ratios. You want a lot more females than males where possible
It's hard to have too much decoration in an African cichlid tank, and I think this is a big problem in yours - the decoration is very low and your fish are mostly above it, so they can see each other most of the time leading to aggression. Similarly in a chase they are in open water so the chasing can be prolonged leading to stress. Once a fish is stressed it is more likely to be picked on by others as they see it as weak.
I'd be tempted to get some aquarium silicone and slate or rocks and make some higher decorations by sticking rocks together. Bury them deep in the substrate (wriggle them as you put them in to get them nearly onto the base glass) and give them a wide base to stop them falling over.
severum mama
Aquarium Advice Addict
I was under the impression that the Christmas fulu were a lot more mild-mannered than most Malawi Mbuna. I'm no expert, having only had my group since Sunday (auction purchase, a group of 5), but I thought I would throw that out there as I've been researching them lately. You might want to keep an eye on him.
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Dubs1281
Aquarium Advice FINatic
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- Jun 30, 2013
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I will. He is a great hider but come out to get food.
severum mama
Aquarium Advice Addict
My 5 are incredibly shy so far, but they've only been here since Sunday and at least they're eating (although, I have to walk away from the tank before they'll even come out to eat). I'm not too experienced with ARLCs (especially Victorians) so I have a 55 gallon planned for the group by themselves. A couple of times I've seen my males start to color up a little bit, at least until they notice me watching, and wow they are stunning fish.
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Dubs1281
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2013
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Mines just over an inch. Hes only blue now. He was the most dominant one in the tank I got him out of. And there were 50 of them.
