Male or female?

[danotaylor]

I only feed them twice a day haha

I agree that your fish are over fed. I would halve the amount you fed them each time then. African cichlids can be prone to bloat sickness. Over feeding and water quality are the 2 main drivers of that.
I feed mine twice a day also but their tummies are not swollen and distended. The belly/abdomen area should look more like this;

 

[benandlaura]

I agree that your fish are over fed. I would halve the amount you fed them each time then. African cichlids can be prone to bloat sickness. Over feeding and water quality are the 2 main drivers of that.
I feed mine twice a day also but their tummies are not swollen and distended. The belly/abdomen area should look more like this;
View attachment 1563435

I feed them as much as they can eat in 2 minutes advice I was clearly wrongly given thanks I appreciate the help

 

[danotaylor]

I feed them as much as they can eat in 2 minutes advice I was clearly wrongly given thanks I appreciate the help

You’re welcome mate. That is definitely a guideline and is intended to prevent uneaten food rotting in your tank causing poor water quality. But it’s just a guideline and doesn’t mean you keep enough food in the tank for constant consumption for 2 minutes. Some greedy cichlids will just gorge themselves and get fat distended bellies. By the looks, several of yours are super active feeders and definitely overeat. It’s a learning curve. Just feed to keep their bellies flat and non distended. If you have several greedy boogers put food in different parts of the tank simultaneously so individual fish are not sitting & gulping all the food in 1 spot. This enables fish lower in the hierarchy to get a good feed as well

 

[benandlaura]

You’re welcome mate. That is definitely a guideline and is intended to prevent uneaten food rotting in your tank causing poor water quality. But it’s just a guideline and doesn’t mean you keep enough food in the tank for constant consumption for 2 minutes. Some greedy cichlids will just gorge themselves and get fat distended bellies. By the looks, several of yours are super active feeders and definitely overeat. It’s a learning curve. Just fed to keep their bellies flat and non distended. If you have several greedy boogers put food in different parts of the tank simultaneously so individual fish are not sitting & gulping all the food in 1 spot. These enable fish lower in the hierarchy to get a good feed as well

Thanks I moved the venustus hap and the orchid that you said were females and my tsnk has chilled out i vented them and could clearly see thet were female but the yellow ob that looks Grey lol does not look female so I put it back in same tank and everything seems OK is it possible it is just a subordinate male?

 

[benandlaura]

Here's another picture of him/her

 

[danotaylor]

That is entirely possible. This OB is clearly not as “thick” and rounded as a lot of your fish but is healthy & the body shape is a good example goal for your group of cichlids.
Chasing each other around constantly is also par for the course in an African Cichlid display tank. Establishing territories and defending hierarchy is the name of the game. They will almost always be official or two that seem to be struggling, but that is pretty typical in this type of set up.
All the best mate!

 

[benandlaura]

That is entirely possible. This OB is clearly not as “thick” and rounded as a lot of your fish but is healthy & the body shape is a good example goal for your group of cichlids. All the best mate!

Thanks

 

[danotaylor]

Here’s a video of my African Cichlid display for reference to the constant movement and bossing each other around. I did end up with several female species in this tank, and I removed them as I was able, but it was very difficult due to the size of the tank to catch them at times. Lol

 

[DJRansome]

As much as they can eat in 30 seconds. Two minutes must be a fish food manufacturer rule, LOL.

 

[DJRansome]

When adults you can feed 1X daily or even skip a day once a week if it helps you feed less. It is not healthy for them to be "fat". If you feed once/day then 30 seconds and vacuum up the extra right away. Or if you want to continue to feed 2X daily then 15 seconds at each feeding, so you are still only feeding 30 seconds/day.