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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Cichlids / September 2003Disease or Aggression?
I have a 6" Scienochromis Fryeri in a 100 Gallon tank w/ similar sized mbuna and other fryeri, and several sun cats.. All has been pretty normal in the tank for a while. Today I saw this fryeri with fins all frayed and stringy. The body, which was quite brilliant blue, had turned mottled red and green in large spots. The fish was really struggling to swim. I removed it promptly to a 40 Gallon recovery tank. I looked in on it tonite, and it was upside down on the gravel (not on its side) and breathing very weakly. This was not a "runt" in the tank. This fish has been fairly high onthe pecking order, and he isn't even the smallest of the fryeri... I don't see any signs of aggression among the other fish. I suspect the markings etc came from aggression, but the color seemed wierd. Its probably going to die soon enough, but I would like to diagnose the problem so I can take corrective measures now... most of the fish in the tank are my favorites. Any suggestions? > I have a 6" Scienochromis Fryeri in a 100 Gallon tank w/ similar sized > mbuna and other fryeri, and several sun cats.. All has been pretty [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Any suggestions? Not sure about the coloration, but my male fryeri have all eventually been killed by other fish. I think they just do not do well when they are not top dog in the tank -- or when they lose a spot in the pecking order. They may be fine for months, but then all of a sudden fall victim to some other fish. Keeping fryeri with mbuna is also not a great idea. (General rule is that haps and mbuna do not mix well). Blue colored mbuna may especially resent the blue coloration of the fryeri. Most of the serious aggression will occur when you are not watching. Meph Usually these cichlids will only pick on their own species but there are always exceptions. I would not rule out the possibility of a disease or water-quality problem. Once a fish shows signs of weakness the others will attack regardless of species or size. There are too many unknowns to make an educated guess since I have not seen your tank or fish. So until you know if the fish died from aggression or something else it would be a very good idea to keep a close watch on the fish and look for signs of not eating etc. -- Mark http://www.cichliddomain.com > I have a 6" Scienochromis Fryeri in a 100 Gallon tank w/ similar sized mbuna > and other fryeri, and several sun cats.. All has been pretty normal in the [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Any suggestions? Peacocks can also fall out the same way, and have never been able to explain that either.... Once it was the removal of a ton of plants that upset the O2 exchange in the water and basically was caught too late... > I have a 6" Scienochromis Fryeri in a 100 Gallon tank w/ similar sized mbuna > and other fryeri, and several sun cats.. All has been pretty normal in the [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Any suggestions? Its frustrating as hell, because I started off with around 5 or 6 males around 6" each and about 3 females around 3.5".... They are among the most expensive fish I have, and are definitely my favorites in the "looks" department. Ofcourse I still love mbuna for pure personality. I have a 35 Gallon tank I could set up to keep my remaining 2 males (5" and 6") as well as my female (3.5")... would this work for now? My other option is a 77 Gallon Mbuna tank that has perlmutts, cynotilapia axelrodi, cyno. afra "edwardi", Ps. Flavus, and some other odds and ends... These guys are all a lot smaller then the fish in the 100 gallon... (Largest fish is an axelrodi male at 4", rest are around 3" range)... Would my fryeri just cause problems in this tank? Thanks in advance folks! > I have a 6" Scienochromis Fryeri in a 100 Gallon tank w/ similar sized mbuna > and other fryeri, and several sun cats.. All has been pretty normal in the [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Any suggestions? Generally, with Malawi mouthbrooders, you want to have a ratio of one male to two or three females. Moreover, with fryeri in particular, it is usually going to be difficult to keep multiple males in one tank. Given the choices you present, I would sell back one of the males and put the other two fish in the 77 gallon tank (provided none of the fish there are small enough for the fryeri to swallow -- if not, the fryeri should leave them alone). Though as the mbuna get bigger, I would expect them to do in the fryeri. Ideally, you would want a separate tank for haps and a separate tank for mbuna. The mbuna prefer lots of rocks, are mostly algae grazers, and are pretty aggressive. The haps are open water fish that should have lots of swimming room, and meaty foods. Fryeri tend to grow fairly quickly, so my strategy when purchasing them is to buy them when they are small and cheap. Once they color up nicely, the prices sometimes go through the roof. Hope this helps, Meph > Its frustrating as hell, because I started off with around 5 or 6 > males around 6" each and about 3 females around 3.5".... They are [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >> >> Any suggestions? |
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