Problems in my Tank ; Help!!!

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izabella

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 15, 2013
36
0
0
montreal
Hi everyone ! I'm currently encountering two problems in my tanganyikan tank. Hope there's some cichlid experts that can help me here.
Problem #1: I bought a couple of wild caught ophthalmotilapia ventralis a month ago. Female dies first n 3 days later whe we went to get another one we found the male died . No bacteria fungus disease bloat. So since we had a female I went n got another male. I feel them regular cichlid food, some cichlid flakes some veggie pellets some mussels. All the other fish love it n thrive . But today the female died again. Now before my male dies what's the cause? Btw there's no injuries either on the fish just like spontaneous death!?

Problem #2:
I bought a huge wild caught male frontosa a few weeks ago for my 200 gal tank. There a huge male blue dolphin in that tank n all went well... Until a few days ago I went n got the frontosa male his wild caught female( they were a couple in the tank from which I bought them) Now my blue dolphin initiates fights with the male frontosa n follows te female even though she also responds in mouth to mouth fights. So why the f does he still stick around with her?? Not even same specie? N now his mouth n face is bruised n he continues to play stupid. The frontosas don't start the fight they really passive. It's blue dolphin that follows the girl around... What going on ??
 
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StevieTheG

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 1, 2012
292
0
0
New Jersey
I will first say I am no expert but hopefully I can add some thought...
Problem 1: How many wild caught specimens have you added to your tank before? If these are the first and/or you've only introduced a very small amount of wild caught cichlids, I would assume their may be a variation in your water chemistry. What are your parameters? Are you taking the necessary precautions while introducing and acclimating them to your water? Personally, I'm a big advocate of using rift lake salts, while some may argue it isnt required for store bought fish it may be necessary for your wild types... these are some ideas but post your water parameters and maybe we can rule some things out.
Problem 2: My thought is the similar body shapes. Males will show aggression towards other males of similar color and/or body shape. Body shape being the key element here. The blue dolphin is getting fiesty and thinks he can get it with the female lol
Best of luck!
 
neutrino

neutrino

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2013
2,400
2,640
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Mid-Atlantic, US
Problem 1-- hard to say with limited information. Could be transport stress, could be aggression from another fish (you won't always see this, sometimes happens at night), could be not enough time taken to acclimate to your water, could be overfeeding while fish was still stressed from transport, etc.

Problem 2-- not unheard of for blue dolphin, (like a number of Malawi species) they will hybridize or attempt to hybridize with other fish, especially when others of their species are not available. I've heard of (and/or seen pictures of) blue dolphin crossed with Dimidiochromis, Nimbochromis, Sciaenochromis, Protomelas (such as red empress), even yellow labs.
 
I

izabella

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 15, 2013
36
0
0
montreal
Thank you !
For the 1st problem, the male is still alive, I really went n got some QUALITY cichlid food and i do variety, omnivore, spirulina, fresh shrimp, mussels. He is still alive n doing well.. I have a lot of other wild caughts in that tank n no one ever died. I mean a few got eaten but lesson learned i put smaller fish in my fry tank until big enough, now lol...
Ph should b good the whole substrate is made of black coral and a lot og rocks.
that's the tank : [video=youtube;UXrq17m6upw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXrq17m6upw[/video]
#2 I have isolated the big male dolphin in a 15gal while his mouth heals, cuz even with a mutilated outh he began showing his dominance n fighting any fish in his way. He does have 3 other dolphins in that tank, but too young to breed. n I really think he got the hots for that wild caught frontosa girl. I dont know if when he is fully recovered i should try put him back in or just switch him to my malawi tank, but his other friends arent in there.. Ah sigh... what do u think I should do ?
 
neutrino

neutrino

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2013
2,400
2,640
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Mid-Atlantic, US
Sometimes a 'time out' in another tank will settle a problem fish, but you can't count on it. Worth a try to put him back in his original tank if that's your preference, but if he's up to the same thing again imo I'd prefer him in the Malawi tank.

For one thing, if it was my tank I'd be hoping for my fronts to breed since they're more of a challenge to breed than Malawis, so more of an accomplishment. Also offspring of wild fronts are less common and worth more than blue dolphins. (btw-- what type are your wild fronts?) Your wild fronts are more likely to be happy or to breed without the ongoing harassment or disruption. Also, since it sounds like along with your Malawi tank you're well on your way to a nice Tanganyika tank, my preference in that situation would be to keep the distinction between the two tanks/lakes. I'm not against keeping fronts with certain Malawi species, but since you already have the wild fronts and wild ventralis, you could scape the tanks differently and with the different types of fish you could have a display of two more naturally distinctive tanks with different moods and more variety between the two, rather than just a blend of the lakes. There are also some pretty interesting Tang species you could add to the Tang tank, depending on size of tank, etc.
 
I

izabella

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 15, 2013
36
0
0
montreal
thank you so much for your reply.. so after 3 days in time-out tank, i put him back in. Same story... but after 2d day now hes hiding in a cave hating on the world... dunno when he will come out.. If he does ill catch him n put in malawi tank.
my fronts are Mpimbwe Point I think.
My current tank is 200gals. Prolly will upgrade when all fronts get huge.
 
P

paulW

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jun 12, 2008
525
83
61
ohio
izabella said:
[Hi everyone ! I'm currently encountering two problems in my tanganyikan tank. Hope there's some cichlid experts that can help me here.
Problem #1: I bought a couple of wild caught ophthalmotilapia ventralis a month ago. Female dies first n 3 days later whe we went to get another one we found the male died . No bacteria fungus disease bloat. So since we had a female I went n got another male. I feel them regular cichlid food, some cichlid flakes some veggie pellets some mussels. All the other fish love it n thrive . But today the female died again. Now before my male dies what's the cause? Btw there's no injuries either on the fish just like spontaneous death!?

Problem #2:
I bought a huge wild caught male frontosa a few weeks ago for my 200 gal tank. There a huge male blue dolphin in that tank n all went well... Until a few days ago I went n got the frontosa male his wild caught female( they were a couple in the tank from which I bought them) Now my blue dolphin initiates fights with the male frontosa n follows te female even though she also responds in mouth to mouth fights. So why the f does he still stick around with her?? Not even same specie? N now his mouth n face is bruised n he continues to play stupid. The frontosas don't start the fight they really passive. It's blue dolphin that follows the girl around... What going on ??
Click to expand...
#1.. Check your nitrate, nitrite and ammonia levels in tank #1. That's a potential cause for unexplained deaths.
#2. Male blue dolphins can get very aggressive when big. I had one that overharassed another blue dolphin and would also bother the other blue haps like Copadichromis and Phenocallis. Very annoying. I don't keep Blue Dolphins any more because of this. I guess other people
have success with them, but I've found them to be a PITA once they lose their spots and get over 6-7". It's a shame, because they are cool fish. I think you're going to have to seperate the dolphin and frontosa. My "terrorist" was in a 300 gallon with plenty of other fish, but he focused on terrorizing all the large blue fish there..
 
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