Jump to content

Multi agression - not sure what to do


SN4RE3485

Recommended Posts

I have 4 unsexed multis in a 40 litre tank. I've had them for about 3 months now with no hiccups until yesterday when i noticed one of them was getting overly picked on. He was cornered and fins were damaged. I thought it may have just been a territorial thing, so I moved all the shells and rocks around and gave them a bit more food than usual to no eval. Its still being cornered and Im not sure what to do now. I cant upgrade the tank size as I have no room so if thats my only option I may have to remove one which will suck. I've attached a photo in hopes to get some advice on how I should rearrange the tank perhaps. I've seen no signs of breeding so I'm only assuming its territorial.

PS. Ammonia and Nitrite are 0. I do 20% water changes each week. I feed them roughly a pinch of Hikarai seaweed extreme (small) once or twice a day.
j64xaw.jpg
 

Top left corner above the filter is the fish in question.

 

Thanks in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have 4 unsexed multis in a 40 litre tank. I've had them for about 3 months now with no hiccups until yesterday when i noticed one of them was getting overly picked on. He was cornered and fins were damaged. I thought it may have just been a territorial thing, so I moved all the shells and rocks around and gave them a bit more food than usual to no eval. Its still being cornered and Im not sure what to do now. I cant upgrade the tank size as I have no room so if thats my only option I may have to remove one which will suck. I've attached a photo in hopes to get some advice on how I should rearrange the tank perhaps. I've seen no signs of breeding so I'm only assuming its territorial.

PS. Ammonia and Nitrite are 0. I do 20% water changes each week. I feed them roughly a pinch of Hikarai seaweed extreme (small) once or twice a day.
j64xaw.jpg
 

Top left corner above the filter is the fish in question.

 

Thanks in advance.

TBH, I have never encountered a situation like yours with multis. They are, in my opinion, one of the easiest cichlids to keep and I've never had an aggression issue. They do face off against one another, but never cause any damage.

My suggestion would be to isolate him until he he recovers, but in the meantime I would suggest adding more multis, preferably of different sizes to ensure you get a mix of males and females. That's assuming your water quality is as good as you have stated. With multis, just like most other cichlids, the more the merrier ;)

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So not long after making this post, I found 2 fry emerge from a shell in the back. So turns out they are breeding :). As for the bullied fish, i've arranged the rocks to define an area for the litte guy. 12 hours since the change i've noticed they bother him very little now. All is well. :)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get rid of the rocks and split the shells into a few groups with a sand mound in between. You can get away with one shell per fish and a few spares. The other option is get a heap more. I had nearly 100 in a 48x18x18 when I was breeding them.

It may be to late if they have bred, but the dominate male is protecting his fry that's all.

Its going to be hard to do in a small tank.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I can understand that. I'll give your idea a shot if they start to invade his little territory in the corner. Thanks appreciate it.

Side question- I've only seen two fry at this point, should I be expecting more?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...