malawi4me Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 I have just set up an african cichlid tank and it has cost me some dollars i tell ya!!! My problem is that i just got home and scooped a dead fish out that cost 30 bucks. All the cichlids are fighting constantly and i believe the dead fish was the weakest in the tank. They are all small cichlids as i like to buy fish and watch them grow. They are all about 1 inch to 2 inches in size. The tank is 6ft x 2ft x 2ft with a rock cave setting through out the tank. They all seem happy apart from the fighting. Is this fighting normal? Have i selected and mixed the wronge fish? Will they stop fighting eventualy? Here is the fish i have mixed together. D.compressiceps. Protemus steveni/ taiwan reef red shoulder peacock aulonocara sp./ chuluchu reef yellow fin mloto perspicax orange cap copadichromis borleyi/ kadango red champsochromis spilorhynchus red top zebras x 5 electric blue venustus maingano auratus maylandia estherae ellectric yellow chilotilapia rhoadesii (this is most aggressive) moorii albino zebra OB peacock And thats it folks. Any info on my problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbuna Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 africans do fight quite a bit, whether to establish territory or when breeding. to avoid some aggresion, you should put lots (and i mean lots) of rocks for new, small, less dominent and female fish to hide. generally mbuna tend to be more boistress than most haplochromines therefore will be more aggressive and dominent. if your tank is new, you should wait for the fish to establish a pecking order and your tank should be a little calmer. new fish tend to be harrassed more untill they fit into the pecking order. aggression in new fish can be decreased by adding fish in groups so aggression is spread between the group. oh did i mention lots of rocks hope this helps harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi4me Posted April 2, 2004 Author Share Posted April 2, 2004 Thanks harry I have been adding fish in groups of 5. From what i can tell most of my fish are males and with the exception of red tops i only have 1 of each species. Cant tell if my champsochromis and compressicepts and venestus are males but al others i have are males. Is it good to have females aswell? Cheers Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbuna Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 females tend to get the males to colour up a little quicker although you would not have 'pure' fry as the chance of crossbreeding would be very high in your tank. harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 Seems quite a lot of different species of fish, did you buy all of them from shops or other ppl? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi4me Posted April 2, 2004 Author Share Posted April 2, 2004 I bought some fish from nowra aquarium shops, and the rest from unanderra aquarium shop. Red tops were bred by my a mate he gave em too me. So what yas think ? My mix of species ok? I should just be patient and let them fight out a pecking order? Have i chosen good species? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishly Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 Wow, you got a lot of fish in the tank . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi4me Posted April 2, 2004 Author Share Posted April 2, 2004 im told that my 6 x 2 x 2 ft tank will happily accomadate around 30 african cichlids, i was also told that so many in the tank will reduce fighting???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted April 2, 2004 Share Posted April 2, 2004 Hi Rob - Finding the right mix of fish is a tricky business: I've highlighted the fish I view as possible problems: D.compressiceps. Protemus steveni/ taiwan reef red shoulder peacock aulonocara sp./ chuluchu reef yellow fin mloto perspicax orange cap copadichromis borleyi/ kadango red champsochromis spilorhynchus red top zebras x 5 electric blue venustus maingano auratus maylandia estherae ellectric yellow chilotilapia rhoadesii (this is most aggressive) moorii albino zebra OB peacock Particularly these fish will become a problem as time goes on. In the meantime you could try some target fish a group of hardy rainbows might be worth a try. Griffin or someone more knowledgable on Malawi cichlids should be able to cast more light on your issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest slugga Posted April 3, 2004 Share Posted April 3, 2004 i have venustus and the male just does not stop ! don't know where he gets all that energy from . Steve0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi4me Posted April 3, 2004 Author Share Posted April 3, 2004 My venustus is about the most peacful in the tank lol The dam rhoadesii is the menace!!! But he is young so he will prob change later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panga Posted April 3, 2004 Share Posted April 3, 2004 i have venustus and the male just does not stop ! don't know where he gets all that energy from . I would have to agree. These guyz can be big trouble makers when they want to be. My male venustus has caused a few fatalities. Now there is a missing fish in the tank he now lives in one of the rusties has just disappeared no where to be found. Cheers Troy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barca888 Posted April 3, 2004 Share Posted April 3, 2004 This is giving me seocnd thoughts of introducing a male to my beauty female venustus. Are the males really that bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panga Posted April 3, 2004 Share Posted April 3, 2004 Hi Barca888, My male veustus was king of the display tank. He was the peace keeper for well over a year. Any fights started and he use to break them up etc. Then one day he just changed. Now i have to be careful what lives in the tank with him. This is giving me seocnd thoughts of introducing a male to my beauty female venustus. I would suggest adding a few more females and a male instead of just one male. Don't let our bad words of venustus put you off. Im still trying with my male. I have 4 venustus turning up here on monday that im getting for my male. Im just praying they arent all males Cheers Troy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citypainter Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 I would keep an eye on the Auratus as well. They can be nasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gutty Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I've always found my venustus to be pretty peaceful.........my livingstoni on theother hand........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreen Posted April 7, 2004 Share Posted April 7, 2004 gee's wat a mix , its fair enuff there small at the moment , but in time , the dimi comp and the spilo will need a tank that size just for them selves and a couple of girls each , i wood have stuck to fish that are within a few cm's of each other "WHEN FULLY GROWN" , not fish that will eventually fit in each others mouths Ps : i just not a big fan of community tanks in general (hehehe) steve green Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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