Lessons learned on Honduran Redpoints...late edition

[FINWIN]

Keeping cichlids has educated me far more than any other fish I've had. And having generations of HRPs has given me some things to think about moving forward.

First thing to mention. In the 125 I am now down to Little Frick and Frack, Bumper, and Deuce. That's it! Shade was found this morning. He was one of the long surviving beta males but finally reached the end of the road. His behavior was erratic recently even though he had no wounds or injury. I suspect stress/bullying as he stayed near the top but then recently he started to mingle with the others, so I couldn't pinpoint. In any case, four small fish in the 125 now.

In the other tanks (much smaller) everyone is fine with no assassinations. So it isn't always about space and territory, in fact the opposite.

The all female breeder tank is just fine with a few squabbles here and there.

The 30 Long growout with several adults is also ok.

Lazarus' tank 20 long is ok with several adults.

The 30 gallon donation tub with sub adults is fine.

Yet the 125 has been nonstop "Game of Thrones" for a year and a half. WHY?

Here's the difference...females! The females can all live together once hierarchy is settled. The males just can't do it, not long term. They kill each other off either fast or slow. The mixed tanks also are all survivors and doing ok.

In a nutshell:

1. Females will fight everybody in breeding mode but rarely kill.
2. Males will fight and/or injure, stress each other to death.
3. Males don't fight the females.
4. The females cause chaos (esp in breeding mode) but seem to moderate the kill mode of the males.
5. The 'pink' hrps are consistently more aggressive across the board. They are always the last ones standing. This only appears to apply to the males. Females both pink and striped are equally aggressive. The stripes take each other out but the pinks take out everybody.
6. The 'more peaceful CA' tag is a bunch of junk.

So maybe the males get too pent up with no females around to the point where their aggression runs out of control and they turn on each other. I'm not saying this is true of every specie but that's been my experience with the hrps.

On another note, Lazarus my miracle stunted fish who survived months with no food or water is now HUGE. This specie doesn't appear to permanently stunt. I've had others go on growth spurts once relatives were offed.

 

[danotaylor]

Please excuse this potentially moronic question from a cichlid veteran of 44yrs, but are HRP the same fish as convicts?

 

[Jexnell]

Please excuse this potentially moronic question from a cichlid veteran of 44yrs, but are HRP the same fish as convicts?

Cousins

 

[HUKIT]

I’ve had them in my fish room for at least 15 years now from Rusty Wessel’s stock. I currently have 7(2 pairs and 3 extra females)in a 150g with 9 Thorichthys maculipinnis, a 11 Sahyadria denisonii(denison barbs) and I’ve never even had a nipped fin. I have two additional pairs each in a 40B in the fish room so my experience is quite the opposite.

 

[FINWIN]

The massacres I had were in the all male setups. As mentioned above I have mixed tanks and one all female tank with no issues.

 

[jjohnwm]

In a nutshell:

1. Females will fight everybody in breeding mode but rarely kill.
2. Males will fight and/or injure, stress each other to death.
3. Males don't fight the females.
4. The females cause chaos (esp in breeding mode) but seem to moderate the kill mode of the males.

So...are we still talking about HRP's? ....or humans?

FINWIN , someday your doctor is going to tell you to reduce the stress level in your life because it's going to affect your health. That's the lesson to learn here: nobody needs to voluntarily add this much stress, there's enough in day to day life without having a bunch of psychopathic fish compounding it for you.

The massacres I had were in the all male setups. As mentioned above I have mixed tanks and one all female tank with no issues.

And so you continued to keep all-male set-ups because....?

I think you secretly enjoy all that whacking and bopping and head-butting and thumping....

 

[FINWIN]

So...are we still talking about HRP's? ....or humans?

FINWIN , someday your doctor is going to tell you to reduce the stress level in your life because it's going to affect your health. That's the lesson to learn here: nobody needs to voluntarily add this much stress, there's enough in day to day life without having a bunch of psychopathic fish compounding it for you.



And so you continued to keep all-male set-ups because....?

I think you secretly enjoy all that whacking and bopping and head-butting and thumping....

Well as far as stress goes the fish are solving it for me since there's almost nobody left in the 125! At this rate the chocolate cichlid I planned to get may go in that tank. But there are no problems in any of the other setups at all. The females are mature and thriving, and the mixed tanks are peaceful as well. And oh yeah, the Queen of them all Pip is just fine and stout. It's the all male setups that have proven lethal. Deuce runs the tank as the only pink marble.

Of the remaining hrps in the 125 Bumper is the favorite. Very colorful, smart, moderately aggressive and originally one of the smaller males (he's big now) I originally moved him from the 225 because he was the only male with a hump his mother (Pip) was interested in breeding with.

Little Fric and Frac (striped) are playful and come up to greet all the time. (great grandsons of Pip and Mongo).

The cube tank project is on the backburner for now. (more expensive house repairs, never ending) I still plan to get another Oscar but that would go in the 225.

 

[FINWIN]

Oh, I went with an all male setup because I thought to control the overbreeding. That problem got solved as I separated the sexes but then everything went sideways!