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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Cichlids / October 2003African Cichlids
I bought a 55 gallon tank, set it up, bought 2 African cichlids from Petland Discounts (that is how they were labeled in their aquarium)... later I bought 5 more Africian Cichlids from a pure fish store and I know there names... I would like to know the names of the two I bought at Petland.. how can I show photos here and would that help? Also, one is very very agression (one of the petland ones), he has taken over a cave in the rocks and runs every other fish (except Clyde the 4 1/2 inch pleco) away... these are all baby fish, I know NetMAx usually has good advice as do others... please help, I don't know if I should return the super aggressive fish or not? It doesn't matter if you bring the aggressive one back. If you do, one or more of the other seemingly peaceful fish will take over. That is the nature of an African cichlid tank. Pecking orders are established and the top dogs will chase and harass the other tankmates. The best defense is 1) A big tank. Like 6-10 feet. 2) Lots and lots of caves and hiding places. 3) Overcrowd to distribute the aggression. 4)Keep temperatures at the lower end of the safe range. 5)Feed lightly and often. Even with these measures, you will still have to get used to a certain level of chasing/fighting in your tank. IMO a typical 4-foot 55 gallon tank is inappropriate for African cichlids. Most of the time, this size tank will be a rotating death generator and you will find yourself visiting the pet store once a month to replace those at the bottom of the pecking order who will typically 1) hide a lot, 2) stop eating, and then 3) die. African cichlids can be seductive with their coloration and beauty. But if you're after a peaceful serene fish tank, you picked the wrong fish. -Marc > I bought a 55 gallon tank, set it up, bought 2 African cichlids from Petland > Discounts (that is how they were labeled in their aquarium)... later I [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > advice as do others... please help, I don't know if I should return the > super aggressive fish or not? Ive got a 55..with 25 fish in it..all full grown Yellow labs, Ps. Zebra Nkhata Bay Cyn. Afra Cobue Mel. Johanni Chimsulu and it certainly is not a "rotating death generator" You just have to make sure you have good ratios of Male to Female, and that you keep similiar levels of aggresssion. > It doesn't matter if you bring the aggressive one back. If you do, one or > more of the other seemingly peaceful fish will take over. That is the nature [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > advice as do others... please help, I don't know if I should return the > > super aggressive fish or not? how do you know male to female at an early age of the fish? > Ive got a 55..with 25 fish in it..all full grown > [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > > > advice as do others... please help, I don't know if I should return the > > > super aggressive fish or not? Wow! I think you might be over-generalizing just a bit in regards to African cichlids. There are alot of species, they come from many bodies of water, and have many different behavioral traits. I have numerous (12 to be exact) 4-ft tanks with African cichlids and I don't experience anywhere near the carnage you describe. A few of the tanks are species-tanks that contain only Tropheus but most are community tanks. If done correctly and with some thought, an African tank can be more rewarding than most people think and losses are no more common than with any other fish.  SignatureMark http://www.cichliddomain.com > It doesn't matter if you bring the aggressive one back. If you do, one or > more of the other seemingly peaceful fish will take over. That is the nature [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > advice as do others... please help, I don't know if I should return the > > super aggressive fish or not? > Wow! I think you might be over-generalizing just a bit in regards to > African cichlids. There are alot of species, they come from many [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > rewarding than most people think and losses are no more common than > with any other fish. I'd have to agree, just look at the difference between open lake and rock dwellers. Ok, so help me here, I have a 50 gallon tank, gravel rocks plants lots of hiding spots, 2 redXreds I think they are both males, how do I tell, one yellow someting with darker stripes from top to bottom getting very fat(think it is female but of what), pair of electric blues, now the reds are fighting something bad, ripping each other up. I have seperated them. They grew all up together and I have never had this problem before. I am sorta new to cichlids, so excuss the namelessness of the breeds. the blues are breeding all the time. > Wow! I think you might be over-generalizing just a bit in regards to > African cichlids. There are alot of species, they come from many [quoted text clipped - 69 lines] > return the > > > super aggressive fish or not? I kept africans years ago. Recenly I bought Labs, Red zebras, peacocks and Kenyii. I have 16 young fish in a 55. I have to large slates placed as dividers - more appparent territory. I also bought little vases - 9 at the dollar store. Chased africans don't like to go into a place with no back door. I know this from the last time when I built a castle out of tiles. They didn't use it until I moved it out from the back wall. So I used a drill and masonary saw blade to get holes in the bottoms without lengthwisw cracks. They are using the "caves' but not a lot. This is cheap. Question. I got two very dark purpple/blue africans with yellow/orange fins. I had to return one becasue he always chased and even got the others riled up to chase. The rest seem to be working out, but this may be because they are not breeding size yet. I do not agree you need a six foot tank. You can get more apparrent territory by rock division and hiding places and many swimming routes around plants. This all figures in reducing territory nervousness. Jim S Cental NJ - by the way you can get small africans from 4 to $10 here. > Ok, so help me here, I have a 50 gallon tank, gravel rocks plants lots of > hiding spots, 2 redXreds I think they are both males, how do I tell, one [quoted text clipped - 78 lines] > > return the > > > > super aggressive fish or not? |
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