A kill was made today.....
- Thread starter cichlidfish
- Start date
This morning I heard some splashing in the 72g and found my h. deppi attacking a female swordtail that was almost the same size as him. He attacked the head until the fish was dead. He then proceeded to eat the swordtail. The JD was just enjoying the feast.
Actually neither. I have never had a cichlid do this, and they have either swollow food whole, or kill out of aggression. This deppi was focused on one fish and had one purpose. Most cichlids also don't eat fish their own size, and eat in this manner. Maybe I'm not feeding him enough?
I'm not worried about swordtails, because they are breeding out of control, and could use a population reduction. This 4'' female swordtail was a 5 gen inbred fish.
I am now wondering what other schooling fish I could keep w/ the deppi. Would a larger tetra be better?
He made no indication whether he was upset, but neither did he say he was sad or happy. I thought it was kind of a rant until someone said score one for the deppi, which then made me unsure.
I think cichlids will pick apart a dead fish. He probably killed the fish, then took advantage of an easy carnivorous meal.
I agree. Whether or not the cichlid actually killed the fish, it would definitely pick at it looking for a quick meal.
I think that is what happened here. I had him in w/ blood fin tetras when he was about 2.5'' and he would swallow them whole, which was pretty crazy to watch.
Anyway this deppi is a eating machine, and puts the oscar I had to shame. He also is eating my amazon swords. This fish is one of the fastest growing cichlids I had.
I think I am going to move the 2 remaining swordtails.
I am thinking about getting buenos aires tetras. Do you think they would stand a better chance with the deppi and JD?