You guys both my cichlid males have snapped!

[rrcoolj]

I hate to type this but both my male cuban and male midas have done some serious work on their partner.

First is the midas. I had the male separated in a 29 gallon tank because he was becoming a bit too aggressive for the rest of the tank. Well yesterday I added the female to see if they would get along and they did! I must have watched for like 2hrs and I was pleased to see lots of tail slapping and flaring. They were getting along great. I woke up this morning to find a badly beat female in the corner of the tank. This scenario was more my fault I shouldn't have crammed these 2 aggressive unpredictable fish in such a small tank.

But what really surprised me is that this morning I also found my cuban female beat pretty bad in a corner of the tank. I also saw the male hounding her. This is very odd because these fish get along so well and the male hasn't even been interested in spawning until about a week ago. My hope is that the aggression was just rough 4play. Either way my female is beat pretty bad but she should pull through she is a tough fish. I did some research and it seems rough 4play for cubans isn't unusual and I have seen some females beat bad in the process. I am hoping after some TLC I can re-introduce the male and they will get along again.

Right now my cuban male and female midas are in a divided 29 and my male is in a 55 gallon. I am just so surprised that this happened because even the midas pair got along fairly well. I guess my question is will these fish get along given some time apart especially the cubans? My midas are currently for sale so I am hoping to get rid of them soon. I also have 4 new fish coming from Jeff Rapps. I am just so distraught by the whole situation I really hope these fish can get along. I guess the lesson here is never assume anything when it comes to aggressive centrals.

 

[dreysthename]

maybe it has somthing to do with the changing dynamics in their tank

 

[Zugzwanged]

Seems like the flaring was the first indicator of some aggression, Cubans and Midas can just generally be very aggressive and don't like tankmates. I had to get rid of my Cuban that was continually liplocking with my loisellei that was already pretty beat up from the LFS.

 

[rrcoolj]

maybe it has somthing to do with the changing dynamics in their tank

That might explain it. It just seems wierd the male cuban especially would turn so aggressive.

Seems like the flaring was the first indicator of some aggression, Cubans and Midas can just generally be very aggressive and don't like tankmates. I had to get rid of my Cuban that was continually liplocking with my loisellei that was already pretty beat up from the LFS.

Its not the fact that they were aggressive toward the other tankmates it's more so they were aggressive to thier partner. My cubans especially got along very well it is very unusual he would beat the female so bad.

 

[aclockworkorange]

Sorry to hear that. Pair bonds are a bit like human relationships and sometimes there are "arguments." Maybe the male is ready to spawn and the female isn't? There's no way to know if they will bond again but I think there is a good chance. Might want to turn the heat down, what do you have them at right now?

 

[Allan01230]

That is the way it is with most agressive cichlids. Why would you keep a pair in such a tiny tank? Espicially with pairs you need a couple hundred gallons at best or at least a divider. They will fight again most likely when you try to put them back together. Trick to keepoing centrals together have them together when juvies and very large tank and even this doesn't always work. Divider is your best bet for safety of the females.

 

[Gruff Master]

I also think that it may be due to the fact that the males were ready to breed while the females were not. I have had several large and aggressive species that have gotten along great only to find the female wounded from a male ready to breed. Let the female heal and bulk up a bit then introduce with a divider if that is an option. I hope things work out for you.

 

[Anubisscott]

Well Reggie, it could have been worse. You were very lucky you didn't loose the female Midas after putting them in the 29g. This is why I always put teracota pots in with my breeding pairs. I large one that is big enough that both can easily fit in and chill out. The other one or two I set up so only the female can get in durring times of aggression and escape the male. Also tends to keep the male calmer knowing she can easily escape. Feel free to view earlier videos of my past Midas pairs to get an idea of what I am talking about. Might help when you reintroduce the pairs back together.

 

[rrcoolj]

Sorry to hear that. Pair bonds are a bit like human relationships and sometimes there are "arguments." Maybe the male is ready to spawn and the female isn't? There's no way to know if they will bond again but I think there is a good chance. Might want to turn the heat down, what do you have them at right now?

My cubans are kept very warm at about 84-85. They don't seem to like lower temperatures. It is weird because the female was displaying to the male and even had her tube down completely. I was sure she was going to lay eggs any day.

That is the way it is with most agressive cichlids. Why would you keep a pair in such a tiny tank? Espicially with pairs you need a couple hundred gallons at best or at least a divider. They will fight again most likely when you try to put them back together. Trick to keepoing centrals together have them together when juvies and very large tank and even this doesn't always work. Divider is your best bet for safety of the females.

The setup was completely temporary. The female midas was beginning to turn into an ass in the 125 so I wanted to see how it would work. I guess it wasn't very smart on my side.

I also think that it may be due to the fact that the males were ready to breed while the females were not. I have had several large and aggressive species that have gotten along great only to find the female wounded from a male ready to breed. Let the female heal and bulk up a bit then introduce with a divider if that is an option. I hope things work out for you.

Thanks Gruff Master... That would explain the midas situation but not the cubans. It was irresponsible for my as a hobbyist to assume my midas would get along in such a small tank that is my fault. As for the cubans, of coarse I cannot be 100% but I believe that the cubans were about to spawn as her tube was down and she was displaying to the male quite a bit. She showed all the signs like cleaning a spawning sight and head shaking.

Well Reggie, it could have been worse. You were very lucky you didn't loose the female Midas after putting them in the 29g. This is why I always put teracota pots in with my breeding pairs. I large one that is big enough that both can easily fit in and chill out. The other one or two I set up so only the female can get in durring times of aggression and escape the male. Also tends to keep the male calmer knowing she can easily escape. Feel free to view earlier videos of my past Midas pairs to get an idea of what I am talking about. Might help when you reintroduce the pairs back together.

I have seen your setup many times and I was planning on simulating your setup had I planned on keeping the midas pair long term. I suppose I could try it in the 55. Thanks for the advice.

 

[aclockworkorange]

I keep your Cuban's parents (my fish, in case others are confused ) at about 78 and James always did as well. If I take it up into the 80's they just want to breed constantly. I would turn their heat down for a bit personally.