Many cichlid species are known for their extreme aggression. The strongest male will become dominant and will constantly chase and fight his competition. Additionally, he will relentlessly chase the females in an attempt to mate. This aggression, however, is one of the more attractive aspects of cichlid keeping as it really brings out the cichlids’ personalities. The negative aspect of the aggression is that it can lead to an entire tank being decimated in a relatively short amount of time. While you will never be able to completely make these aggressive cichlids peaceful, there are steps you can take to reduce the aggression such that it does not result in fatalities.

Male to Female Ratio

One of the easiest ways to control african cichlids aggression is to have the correct male to female ratio. Many of the more aggressive species have males that mate with multiple females. It is important in these cases to have at least a 3:1 ratio between females and males. This will keep the number of male competitors at a minimum and will force the males to chase multiple females instead of focusing on the same one every time. If you try to keep these fish in a 1:1 ratio, the poor female will be chased until she becomes exhausted and dies.

With some species, sexing the fish (telling the males and females apart) is very easy while with others, it is impossible unless you perform a procedure called venting. With these hard-to-tell species, you will need to keep an eye on them as they develop. When the fish start to reach sexual maturity, you will usually be able to tell whether they are a male or female from their behavior. If you end up with too many males or not enough females, return some to the store and buy some new ones.

Similar Temperament

While many cichlids are aggressive, there are various degrees of aggressiveness. Some are only aggressive towards their own species while others will attack anything in the tank. Also some are fairly mild-mannered relative to other cichlid species (although it is still generally a good idea to not mix them with community fish). If you put a very aggressive species with a less aggressive species, the less aggressive fish will not be able to defend themselves. The best way to limit deaths in your aquarium is to pick species that have similar temperaments. There will still be fighting, but both species will be equals during the battles.

Comments

Add New Search RSS

Chasing wwcichlids (Registered) 2009-02-08 22:10:19 Hi, After I bought several pairs of cichlids of the same size, they are growing at a different rate. Now one of them (don't know what it's called, but orange color) outgrow the others. There's only left with 1 fish per type in the tank. This orange cichlid keep chasing the electric yellow. Please advise whether there's a way to improve the situation, as I like the yellow guy the most, and don't want to see it dying. Tks WW Reply 26   6

aggresion rodney martin (Unregistered) 2010-02-01 21:43:15 a good way to limit aggression is to rearrange the rocks in the tank during water changes and when introducing new fish. also you must have 1 male to 3 or 4 females. also you should only have cichlids from the same lake, ie. malawi or tanganika. keep either malawian or tanganikan not both. Reply 8   3

scott (Unregistered) 2012-01-10 07:13:07 very good answer always make sure you change the rocks and features around in you tank as it lets them all settle back down together in a new territory, rather than introducing new fish into an old habitat where the other are usto it. Changing the scenery should keep aggression down after a couple of days they will work out where they stand and you will notice a dramatic change Reply 0   0

Anonymous (Unregistered) 2011-09-03 23:20:20 You can also try adding dither fish in the aquarium like giant danios. They are fast and quite tough but wont be agressive towards your cichlids. Other dither fish could be synodontis catfish, rainbow sharks and congo tetras. Other kinds of fish add variety and beauty to the aquarium but really help reduce agression if you choose the right fish. I also think the fish you are talking about is a zebra in the rockfish family and I had problems with a blue zebra doing the same think. Finally I took it to the pet store and got some new less agressive cichlids. Reply 1   1

Ruffian (Unregistered) 2012-01-17 12:35:32 I have learned the same thing that you have through trial and error. I've had a tank set up that I had Orange, yellow , blue, and albino cichlids in. In addition to these there was an oscar, a red bellied pacu, three bichirs, and a couple of crayfish. What I learned is that you have to build your tank over time. Once you know which fish grow fastest; you start the tank with the slower growing guys to give them time to stretch out before introducing the other fish. I spent maybe $100.00 on oscars and cichlids because I thought they would make a beautiful tank; but the oscars outgrew and ate the cichlids. I did it a second time: but this time I bought cichlids let them stretch out to about 4 inches, and then introduced a very small oscar. This time it was a success. The cichlids will bully the oscar at first, in time it balances out. I think that the same holds true for the yellow and orange cichlids. Allow the yellow guys time to grow. Reply 2   0

orange v.s. yellow (african) c shawn (Unregistered) 2009-02-15 19:00:31 i'm sorry to be the one to tell you this but i have about 6 orange cichlids and had 2 african cichlids. the yellow african cichlid died recently. i don't know if the orange killed the yellow but he was dead when i woke up the other day. My only advice to you would be to watch them carefully and if they're showing any signs of agression towards one another seperate them. best of luck. P.S. i liked the yellow guy too. we named him Big Bird ;) Reply 40   10

male or female ... (Unregistered) 2009-02-23 09:13:42 I was once told that when it came to African Cichlids, if they had two or more spots on their back bottom fin they were female, and if they one or less they were male. Reply 61   5

sexing and species epeegod (Unregistered) 2009-03-21 23:11:45 The orange cichlid sounds like it is probably a Red Zebra (Metriaclima estherae). They are quite common in pet stores and LFS's. They grow relatively quickly and can be quite aggressive. Consider keeping it separate from the others or keeping it in a species only tank. Also, you might try breaking the tank up into territories with some rocks to provide hidey-holes. As for the egg-spots,it's the other way around (generally). The males have more than the females to entice them when spawning. Cheers and good luck! Reply 8   6

Phish Lover Amy (Unregistered) 2009-09-21 17:13:04 The egg spots could be fin rot, there is a suppliment called Melafix that will help clear that up. Reply 2   1

electric yellow ryan (Unregistered) 2009-05-12 19:14:04 I also have 2 electric yellows in a four foot tank. Lately one died. I have a flameback in with them and he seems to be the one causeing the problems. If you have a flameback i would advice trading him in at ur fish shop or placing him into his own tank. Some flamebacks can be rather nice though but most tend to want to be king fish in the tank and will kill anything for the position. Reply 20   5

Can Jack Dempsies be added w/ James (Unregistered) 2009-06-20 20:48:21 I have a variety of mixed african cichlids in a large tank (over 100 gal.) can I add jacks to it? I was told you shouldn't mix Africans w/ americans. Is this true? Reply 23   1

casandra (Unregistered) 2009-06-24 13:33:15 I was also told that but there are differences between a regular Jack and an electric blue the regular ones can go with the african (same temerment) the problem there is that they require different PH the Jacks in the 7 range and the Africans in the high 7 to 8 so be careful. Reply 11   0

Jack with other cichlids Youngblood (Unregistered) 2009-07-13 12:29:54 I have a regular Jack, an orange African, and a Convict, plus a bony catfishand a placostomas, the cichlids leave the catfish alone (it only comes out of hiding at night). I've noticed that the Jack has shown dominance in the fact that he gets full reign of the sunken ship along with the placo. The convict is a little bit smaller than the Jack and orange African so he tends to be chased a lot, looks like he'll survive. I have noticed that my Cichlids dig, they pick up rocks and move them aside until you can see the bottom of the tank, I was wondering if this is boredom or just their way of making a home? Reply 22   13

Unregistered Ruffian (Unregistered) 2012-01-17 12:15:32 Since I have been dealing whith the African Cichlid I have noticed that they almost always move the gravel in the tank. This is the fishes way of carving out territories in the tank. My remedy for this was to use large smooth stones from the home decor section for the bottom of my tank. Reply 0   0

onelildude durrell (Unregistered) 2010-03-31 11:45:46 There is always an alpha in any tank. VERY IMPORTANT. Convicts mature at a lot higher rate than other Cichlids. Don't let his size fool you and watch out for signs of extreme aggression Such as torn fins, blemishes, and missing scales. Second, cichlids tear up the tank to ensure their are no hidden predators. Good luck Reply 2   0

justin (Unregistered) 2010-05-01 22:19:46 cichlids also tear up there tank when they are prime to mate or in the mood to say, i have a powder blue that is about 6-7 inches in size in a 30 gallon tank alone, he is very aggressive and will not let anything be in the tank with him at all Reply 1   1

Jack dempsy Connor Moss (Unregistered) 2010-09-12 13:08:49 The Jack dempsy will chase and kill them Reply 4   0

getting new cichlids ken (Unregistered) 2009-07-21 09:08:49 What kind of cichlid should i get? There are so many different species. Reply 52   6

mateing pairs tammy1970 (Registered) 2009-07-23 20:49:44 do cichlids need to be the same color for them to mate? Reply 16   6

Emily (Unregistered) 2011-02-26 02:50:53 Not at all! My black and white striped female has mated twice with my pure white male. More colorful parents are more likely to produce colorful offspring, but the parents do not have to be the same color. Reply 0   0

Babies in its mouth Joe (Unregistered) 2009-08-13 19:59:54 Today i noticed something in my yellow cichilds mouth.I opened its mouth and out fell 3 tiny baby fish.Is this natural??? Reply 14   0

johnny (Unregistered) 2009-08-26 22:32:48 Cichlids are mouth brooding fish, meaning they when they lay their eggs they keep them in there mouth. So yes, it is natural. You yellow cichild just unknowingly had babies with someone else in the tank. Reply 4   0

kat (Unregistered) 2010-04-02 03:04:23 actually it depends on the cichild the green terror lays eggs in her little territory while the male follows behind her and fertilizes them i've watched it and it is the most interesting dance i have ever seen now the african cichild does mouth breeding and from what i understand the spots on the males tail are dummy eggs the female tries to collect and the male will release his sperm into her mouth thus babies in their mouth lol Reply 3   2

kat (Unregistered) 2010-04-02 03:06:17 it's not normal to be messing with mama's mouth lol but yes it's completly normal Reply 2   0

cichilds susie Cooper (Unregistered) 2012-01-13 07:27:47 that is what is so great about cichilds... their babies come out of their mouth once old enough and any alarm with have them scurring back to the Mothers mouth. I also had some males turn into females. Reply 0   0

Reply DR (Unregistered) 2009-08-20 16:17:08 The Spots on its Anal fin, known as egg spots, more spots more likely that the fish is male. Believe these spots are what attract the females to the male hence fertilizing the eggs in her mouth Reply 3   1

Emily (Unregistered) 2011-02-26 02:54:12 It's good to note, however, that not all males have egg spots. I have an all white male that has mated twice with my female, but there is not a single spot on him. Granted, he may develop a spot or two when they are mating, and I haven't noticed. In general though, he's pure white. Reply 0   1

African cichlid information Dorothy Fisher (Unregistered) 2009-09-03 02:48:31 Wow, thanks a lot! This post is an answer to questions that everybody keep on asking. Agressiveness is a good point to complete the list for the African cichlid information. http://fishy-whisperer.com/CichlidFishSecretsReview.html Reply 0   5

Male beating female Samantha (Unregistered) 2009-10-05 15:25:18 I have three cichlids in the same tank, a jack dempsy(whos doing great) and two which are a pair I dont know spedifics but they are black and white and have an almost pinkish red on them, Only recently I noticed J fish (who i assume is the male) beating up on S fish (female) we bought them at the same time from the samse pet place and they were always very close sharing the ship wreck and now he turned on her? I separated them but now S fish doesnt seem to be doing well.. What do I do?? Reply 15   1

Anonymous (Unregistered) 2010-01-10 12:35:35 youve broken up the mateing,the male chases the female Reply 1   1

justin (Unregistered) 2010-05-01 22:25:08 males r aggrssive with females and with each other also, but more so with the female when he wants to mate, u need to put them back together, he will still be like that towards her but shes used to it just make sure she has alot of hiding places and room to run and get away when she needs to, now if they do mate and she becomes pragnet then u need to put up a devider or move him cause she will hold her eggs n her mouth up to 3 weeks and during that time she will not eat so she will be very weak Reply 0   0

new boy bill sharp (Unregistered) 2009-11-18 14:02:09 I am new to this have the tank prepared and intend to start the fish entry in three days . the tank is 4ft wide by 3ft high. how many should i end up with ? also can I confirm that males normally have more spots than femails ? any advise gratefully received. Reply 8   0

thanks louden (Unregistered) 2009-12-11 16:01:01 well the part about africans with americans is due to the american ie oscer or other type has long fins and the african loves to ripp them off ive had three africans ina 40g tank for more then six year ans when i try anything els they kill it its quite fun to watch costly lol Reply 1   1

Brief intro to the aquatic lif Cristian327 (Unregistered) 2009-12-26 17:16:22 Hey there, well today is my first day having fish. I bought 4 little africans( all different colors). I did some research before choosing what kind of fish to get, I looked for nice colors and shapes and I think that the Africans are awsome. I have a blue with black vertical stripes. Yellow with black stripes, a yellow with a horizontal black stripe and a fully yellow one but I think when it grows it's dorsal fin turns kind of black. Like i said they are very small and I hope to see them grow hopefully all of them. I don't quite think they are going to reproduce since every single one of them have different colors and I don't whis a male or female. Thank for reading Reply 2   1

they kill the little yellow o robyn (Unregistered) 2010-01-21 11:43:35 ooooafrican cichlids the auritica cichlid oookills the lemon cichlids all the time no mater what . and females have three spots . and the females are bigger then the males .digging up rocks means there breeding . its there breeding behavor .iv seen my cichlids breed they have four babies rite noww ,they lay about ten most dont survive unless you remove them from tank after they comout Reply 0   6

african ci chlids robyn (Unregistered) 2010-01-21 11:56:26 come out there mouth you put adivider in the way or put them in agrow out tank .and feed them crumbeld up flake food or shrimp pellits untill they get big enough to eat cichlids pellits .and they dont like to have plants in there soroudings they tare them up. and the males have the holes ,the females have stick things hanging out and femaleshave.three spots to atract males .and shimmy and shake to flirt .with the males .they do breed with .other species. and thats how we come up with different species and colors. Reply 6   1

Electric yellow cornelius (Unregistered) 2010-02-07 21:21:31 may someone can give me a good advice. i have three electric yellow african cichlids, im trying to figure out the males from the females. i was told the male has black on the upper fins. the female doesnt. also, i have heard males are larger then females. can someone please help me out here. thanks. Reply 11   3

Two Females? Cait (Unregistered) 2010-02-27 14:00:13 Will two girls be safe together? Reply 3   0

Getting Fishies Sarah (Unregistered) 2010-02-27 19:22:58 Yo diggity dig dogs. I have a 20 gallon (tall) tank Im about to set up. I want to get 3 African Cichlids for this tank. I also was thinking about some tiger barbs, obviously a pleco, and maybe a spotted puffer. The puffer will be bigger than the cichlids at purchase, will this guarantee his safety? I'm a bit of a newb to aquariums so any help is appreciated! Reply 0   0

Emily (Unregistered) 2011-02-26 03:03:57 With a 20 gal tank, you're pushing it with just the 3 cichlids. Adding more fish creates more aggression as there is little territory to be devided amongst many fish. A pleco will outgrow a 20 gal as well. Generally, you want 1 pleco for a 60 gal tank. We started with a 29 gal, a pleco and 6 cichlids (new to aquariums) and very quickly all but 2 cichlids died off. The two remaining are now my mating pair, but the female last an eye from the overcrowding and aggression. We attempted to add a 3rd into the 29 gal, and he was chased enough that he constantly stayed in one spot behind the filter. We have upgraded to a 60 gal, added 3 new cichlids and a pleco, and everyone is happy. There is room for all to swim, and Big Blue (who used to live only behind the filter) has become king of the tank. There's enough room that each fish has a general area, and they have room to interact so we can enjoy them as well. Reply 0   0

aggression smilyman69 (Registered) 2010-02-28 15:33:30 i have an african cichlid that was put in a tank with an oscar and a dragonfish. the african killed the oscar and the dragonfish 3 times its size shortly afterwards. one day the tank got a bit of algea in it, and i put an algea eater in the tank. after that all the african did was cower in the leaves of a plant, because the algea eater actually chased back. Reply 4   1

sherry (Unregistered) 2010-12-31 02:08:43 How long were they in the tank for together? I also have a african cichlid dragonfish and an algea eater, and so far I haven't had a problem, and now that I have read your post, I'm a little nervous, don't want any fish getting hurt Reply 0   0

tankindanger biggeaszy (Unregistered) 2010-03-03 13:37:44 i got had a rainbow shark in my tank an my african has murdered it it has the jack on hostage but waiting to murder it. wat should i do??????i got 2 bala sharks are they next? Reply 11   2

onelildude durrell (Unregistered) 2010-03-28 08:53:03 I have two longfins,a red tiger and an albino. Went to bed the other night and they were kissing, got up and the red tiger was almost dead. Went to your website and read the article on "Agression".I currently have them in a29 gallon and intend to upgrade by next summer. however, for a 3to1 ratio I`ll have to make that move sooner even though times are hard economically. Temporary fix, I threw in a tank divider just to keep the red tiger alive. Couple of days later, good as new. I now fold the edge over during the day and they interact fine.Surprisingly, the red went to the aggressor first. Seperated at night and they get along fine. Reply 0   0

poseidonsminions (Unregistered) 2010-04-04 15:30:24 space is the key to lower aggression so buy big tanks if your going to keep african cichlids 120g minimum. Reply 4   1

Aggression took out his eye D (Unregistered) 2010-05-17 04:27:40 Hello, my family owns the Red Zebra African Cichlids and I usually deal with those that need to be quarantined. Recently, one of our bigger ones has had his eye basically ripped out. I've dealt with swollen eyes before but to have the actual eye and fish meat hanging out of the socket is new to me. Is there a certain way to treat this? I've grown rather attached to the fish and do not simply want to flush him. Someone told me to add some melafix to the water? Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Reply 8   0

Rock spitting Vnuk1 (Unregistered) 2010-08-18 13:04:24 I have two African cichlids and the smaller of the two is burrowing and spitting out rocks, I'm not sure of the sexes of the two but one is much larger than the other and the smaller of the two chases the bigger one and is kinda rough. So is rock spitting is a sign of breeding? Be gentle I'm a newb.... Reply 0   3

help Ray (Unregistered) 2010-11-15 23:54:24 i have a tank with a mix of cichlids we have 6 total plus sucker fish! they all ganged up one one? i had to reach into the tank to break it up? now it is swimming up side down and is missing scales and parts of its fins. i took it out and put it in a tank all by its self and put in stress coat and melafix. what else can i do? i dont know the sex of any of them but they were all put in the tank together almost 2 years ago? Reply 0   0

Aggessive Orange Cichlid JakeNYC (Unregistered) 2010-12-22 18:53:18 I just recently bought my first fish tank (20 gallons). There was initially an orange (male), blue (male) and yellow (female) Cichlid. At first, the female seemed to be having a fun time, chasing her image in the wall of the tank, etc. Then she seemed to just hang out at the surface, either by the bubbles by the filter or in corner where it looks like it reflects a rainbow. They seemed to all be getting along fine. When I came back from work the other day though, she was missing part of her back fin and the orange one was chasing her around. The pet store suggested adding 3 more - an albino, black and another yellow one (all female I believe). At first, the new yellow fish seemed to try to protect the original yellow fish, but the original yellow is now spending all her time at the bottom of the tank hiding in a rock (and also her yellow color has gotten darker). Now the orange fish has been extremely aggressive, primarily going after the albino (not just chasing but biting). The albino is the largest of the new fish. The alino and new yellow one are also hanging out at the same place that the first femaile did - in the corner that reflects a rainbow. The blue one joins in sometimes too. The black one is hiding at the bottom most of the time and the yellow one seems to be chased occassionally but not bitten. The oranage one has also gotten much larger. Is this normal? Could the first female be pregnant or just hiding? Will her tail grow back? Also what happens if the fish are all females? Will they get aggressive with each other? Do they need a male to get the dynamics going? Reply 6   0

african cichlid sherry (Unregistered) 2010-12-31 02:01:45 I really dont know to much about fish, I have a 75 gallon tank. I have a african cichlid, blue in color, a dragon fish, a cat fish, albino shark an algea eater, two crabs, and three gold fish. So far all are doing well, once in a while if the dragon fish gets close to the catfish when he is in his log, the catfish will chase the dragon fish. The african cichlid doesn't chase any of the fish, keeps hidden most of the time, in the cave or in with the plants, will this change as the fish gets older? I've been reading some information about aggressiveness, and havena't seen any yet, but its only been about a week to. If anyone has any information please email me at sf57301@yahoo.com Thank You Reply 0   0

Vanessa (Unregistered) 2011-01-12 16:35:11 Do You Keep Babies From Momma Reply 0   0

melanochromis johannii agressi Filip (Unregistered) 2011-01-18 03:39:50 Hi im keeping johannii cichlids 2 males 4 females and 2 ancistrus fish in a 70cm x 30cm x 40cm -/+ 80 liter tank and i need your advice about the aggression . the males are constantly battling and chasing females to the back of the tank and when you see the tank its empty no fish in site only the males. Tryed to put more hiding places more rocks but that didnt work , rearranged it many times but nothing works. I read over the internet about keeping more( nearly overcrouded ) cichlids in the tank to lower the aggresion . so what should i do get more fish or i split the males and females 3:1 ratio in separate tanks ( buddy of mine will be glad to take half ) ? Thank in advance . Reply 0   0

color change Rose (Unregistered) 2011-01-29 17:57:25 I have a convict an it was white to begin with then got some orange around the bottom of it, I came home today and the orange is now blue. What does it mean Reply 0   0

Strange Sean (Registered) 2011-02-18 14:56:47 I have to tell you that cichlids are very strange. You will find that they are going to change colors, sometimes they will do it right infront of your eyes. Alot of them start out one color and then change to another, and then sometimes another. The fish will usaully go very bright when they are ready to mate. The male will try to win her over with his beautiful color show. So you may have a fish that is wanting to mate, or just a fish that is changing its color. Hope that helps and doesn't add to the confusion. Reply 0   0

susie Cooper (Unregistered) 2012-01-13 07:28:58 i believe that a male turns into a female. Reply 0   0

anthony357 (Registered) 2011-02-12 08:18:00 how to set a african cichlid tank Reply 2   1

which ones are males and wich Zac (Unregistered) 2011-02-13 21:21:36 i have 6 cichlids and 4 of them have 1 yellow spot on the anal fin and 2 of them have more than 5 yellow spots on the anal fin which ones are males and which ones are females Reply 0   0

Can't know for sure Sean (Unregistered) 2011-02-18 16:10:55 All that i can say is that most of the time the males are the guys with the egg spots, i know that all the females that i have don't have egg spots and the males do. I do know that sometimes the pet stores will just get in males and sometimes they will just get in females. The best thing to do is find a store near you that sells fish as there specialty. If you are getting your fish from a chain pet store, alot of the time the employees don't have the know how to tell you what is what. Sometimes they are unable too correctly identify the right fish. I know that the store that i get all my fish and supplies from really know their stuff. The owner selects all the fish from the breader himself and can tell you everything that you need to know. So you should be able to talk to your local fish store, and they will tell you if they are male or female. Ofcoure if they don't have egg spots, it would not be possible for them to tell without seeing them. Reply 1   0

aboutone of my fish louise (Unregistered) 2011-02-18 08:54:52 i have a zebra blue cichlids and one of them keeps swimming up ways and keeps doing this like there is some thing rong the other fish have not been ner it to attack so makes me think that its not dieing and that summert eles is rong iv change my warter and my tank is very big so planty of room and all thats in there is big rocks and sand and aload more diffrent types of cichlids but theres just one out of all that just swims up ways and a yellow fish above the fish that swims up ways i i have notice theres one yellow fish that stays above this fish so i really dont have a clue but what i do know is that its not dieing becouse i know the others would attack it so could some body help me and tell me why this one fish swims up ways and thats it ps it did use to swim all around the tank at one point cheers louise Reply 0   0

It could take a while Sean (Unregistered) 2011-02-18 16:01:38 I have had a similar thing happen with some of my fish. I am not entirely sure, but i think what had happened is that the fish was injured. There was something wrong with its fins and it was no longer able to to swim around the tank, but only upwards. It did take a while but the fish did die. Not from being attacked, but from its injuries. I am not sure if this is what is happened to yours but it sounds alot the same. Good luck. Reply 0   0

How can you tell the sex? lovemycichlids (Unregistered) 2011-02-18 16:50:27 I have read several comments and some say the spotted ones are the male some say they are the female. Can anyone assist me on this. I also have a orange cichlid, when I bought mine they were all the same size except the orange grew twice as big as the others quickly and is now the head fish in the tank with aggression. It seems to me that the orange is the head in any tank. Reply 0   0

black cichlid nick (Unregistered) 2011-02-25 12:07:13 I have a electric yellow, electric blue, and one BLACK cichlid in my 72 gallon tank right now. Does anyone know what this black one is called? I have never seen one before and I just had to buy it as it was mixed in with the others at the local Walmart. He gets really black when aggressive and he turns really pale grey when he gets startled. Anyone with any knowledge please let me know. He is a very pretty fish for being only black. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reply 0   0

55 gal Jen (Unregistered) 2011-03-22 06:27:49 I have 2 male S. Fryeri ( Electric Blue Hap) that I bought together and let them grow in a 20 gal. Now they are ready to move in my 55 gal any day - just waiting for the water to cycle. One of my fish has decided to be the dominant and chases the other around. My submissive fish has a torn fin so I'm watching them closely.Yet more often than not they act like best buds and will even hide in the same log together ( each has their own log). My question is - should I add more fish (and if so what species ) or get a divider if moving them to the 55 gal doesn't work. If I get more fish the cichlids I have seen now are much smaller than my boys of 3.5-4 inches total L . I'd be afraid they would either be lunch or chased to death. Please advise. Thanks Reply 0   0

Anonymous (Unregistered) 2011-10-21 20:25:45 My yellow cichlid has black tip on fin. The past 3 days it has been doing strange things. It was staying by pump now it keeps its mouth out of the water like it's gasping for air. It stays in the corner. The orange spotted one was always by its side. Now it just occasionally goes around the yellow one...too busy moving rocks. The blue striped one started being a bully towards the yellow and not to the 7 others. Oh wait..the spotted orange looks like it just nipped at the yellow!! What do I do?? Reply 0   0

Aggression mountainh2o (Unregistered) 2011-11-06 21:11:00 I have three tiger oscars, 3.5 inches long, indeed still young. They are in a 55 gal. One is developing aggression, lighter in color and generally more striped all over. The other two seem to hang together pretty tight, even touching. Bottom fin length, hard to tell. They only had three, and trying to get a mating pair so odds are less, but hoping. Posted a pic of the fish, featuring bottom fins. The one in the front has the aggression, the light one. You can see the split fin on the other, and the pretty red one I just noticed has slight damage on the body! Watching close, but might be messing the pairing up if I get rid of the aggressive one. What do you think? Here is the pic if this sticks. It is only a pic. I put it online just to show here. I love oscars, would love to actually get a mating pair! http://www.bransonwebdesign.net/images/ThreeTigerOscars.jpg Reply 0   0

Aggression barebieshorses (Registered) 2011-12-17 16:02:46 I have recently bought 4 cichlids. One has been very aggressive and has killed one already. The first cichlid is a bright blue/ purple with 2 white dots on the bottom of its back fin. The second one is light brown with dark brown stripes. The third is a bright yellow with black stripes. And last i know is a rainbow cichlid. I have tried rearranging the tank but the blue cichlid is still being very aggressive. They are all about the same size. Is there anything else i can do with the blue cichlid to stop its aggression? Reply 0   0

cichlids colors are not as bri ljmanz15 (Registered) 2012-01-11 23:21:24 so i got these blue cichlids and have had them for a couple months and their not blue any more how do i get their color back that they had when i got them i dont get it can somebody please give me sme advice or help....... Reply 1   0

justin (Unregistered) 2012-01-16 07:20:12 hey you can try tetracolour its a fish food that enhances their colour as well as it is a good being to the fish justin Reply 0   0

Janet (Unregistered) 2012-01-16 08:09:27 I have a 55 gallon tank that I've inserted water, some fake plants (would love live but lack the right lights and clueless on how to get the proper lighting) and decor. It's been empty for a week. I have two questions: 1) I've had freshwater fish for years but still consider myself novice. Are cichlids a good choice for me? I'm looking for color and personality. How many and what type are best for cichlid beginner? 2) I collected some black beach sand from Agate Beach when on a road trip a few years ago. I'd like to put it in my tank. Is this a no-no? Same with rocks I collected. Reply 1   0

Write comment
Name:
Title:

Powered by JoomlaCommentCopyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.Homepage: http://cavo.co.nr/