Fight it out? Chocolate and uaru.

[Snowflake311]

I have had this Uaru for 5 years got him as an adult he was a rescue and I never wanted to keep him this long. He ended up killing my severum stressed him out to death I should have gotten rid of him then. This fish once was nice and ok with tank mates now he is a jerk even to the silver dollars. It's a 100gal tank. This uaru has been living as the only cichlid for a year now. I thought the chocolate would be big enough to hold his ground. But the chocolate I adopted and I don't think he was kept in the best conditions so he is weaker than my uaru who has been well cared for.

When I brought the chocolate home in a zip lock bag that was leaking the kid I got him from just put him in it before I got there I had a bucket ready. The ride home was short. I put the chocolate in a bucket and cleaned the tank out and moved decor around. Than I took out my uaru and put him in another bucket. Once the tank was filled I added the chocolate to the tank and let him adjust for over a half an hour. Than I put the Uaru back in. Things went ok for a while and than I found them lip locking. It was more of tug of war No one got really hurts but the chocolate is already weak and stressed. After the lip lock fight the chocolate was gasping at the top of the tank looking bad. So I again took out the Uaru out. The chocolate has recovered and looks ok. But he still needs to adjust more and get stronger.

Should I try again to put them together? I would love to have them bother in the tank. I am ready to give up on this uaru he is a bastard and killed my favorite Severum. Or maybe I need more cichlids. Because 2 is a bad number. Do you think adding young fish to a tank with an adult is best?

 

[virgil2090]

I think the chances of those 2 sharing that tank are slim.maybe in a bigger tank they would be ok.I have had luck adding smaller cichlids with some larger SA.you could re-home the uaru then you have more choices.my chocolates accepted all tankmates so far

 

[SomeStonedFish]

if you insist on keeping both fish together in the same tank, start with a divider, that's a must have imo when introducing adults to one another.

 

[Woefulrelic]

Don't think an uaru will share much of a 100g, chocolates get huge too.

 

[Snowflake311]

This uaru is 6 years old I had him 5 years. He lived with others for years but now is a big jerk. He is nippy with the silver dollars . This chocolate is also older I think 4 years old. He came to me from a 50gal with a fire mouth as a tank mate. So far he is very mellow not jumpy or scared. My tank is fun to watch again. My uaru made it a hostile tank.

 

[Woefulrelic]

You've done all you can do to limit aggression, I think short of doctoring the chocolate all you can do is hope they work out a pecking order.

 

[KNH]

I have both a uaru and a chocolate and they don't have any issues with each other but my tank is much larger. 2 12" fish that don't like each other just won't work well in a 100g. Best bet is keep the one you like the most and sell/give away the other one.

 

[Snowflake311]

They are also the only 2 cichlids in the tank no others. So all the aggression is between the 2. During the fight The pacu came over and looked like he was saying, hey stop it what are you doing . He never got into it. Ps - Don't worry the pacu is going to a bigger tank tonight. He was a rescue and I found him a good home.

The uaru likes no one that's the problem. I am going to rehome him. If it was a larger tank and I had at least 2 other cichlids it could work but only 2 big cichlids in a 100gal will not work.

Thanks guys.

 

[Yoda1]

Possibly add another Uaru.
And he may forget about the chocolate

In my 150 gal, I had 5 Uarus, a pair of Severum and a pair of Chocolates, and never had a problem.

 

[convict360]

Personally I'd re-home the uaru, especially if you aren't enjoying the tank with him in it; at the end of the day the hobby is for enjoyment, you succeeded in rescuing the uaru; if you find him a good new home then you've done all you can for him.