I got the acara into my 120 gallon today with my severum, and the two are swimming together and "hanging out" so to speak, always staying with each other. The acara is a 3" female, Severum is a 2.5" male. Both are showing good colors and are unstressed, only fish in the tank ATM, so it's not from stess that they're shoaling. I'm kinda at a loss here... Cichlids don't shoal...
Acara and Severum Shoaling together? WTH?
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At 3 inches? Those species? Now I'm even more confused, though not surprised. They are quality specimens 
A lot of cichlids do shoal -- uaru, discus, festivums. Also, at such a small size, juvenile cichlids tend to stick together. It's a safety in numbers thing. Two small fish alone in a tank that size probably means they're sticking together for security.
I agree. Most of my grow outs stick together until they get large enough to feel more confident. I even have a few that stay together as adults.ryansmith83;4420827;4420827 said:
I don't really mind either way, and it's probably just safety in numbers. The acara is about one year old, dunno about the sev. Babies would be epic though 
Another thought... when you introduce cichlids to other cichlids, the established fish will often display to the newcomer. They'll flare fins, tail slap, follow them around, etc. It's basically a way of sizing up the new guy and letting him know that someone else is boss. Every time I move severums around here at the house, I see that happen. Maybe they're working out who's dominant.
Next day, still following each other. I saw one kissfight, Instigated by the acara, which confuses me because in my history with him and the geos, he never fought anything. It was one kiss thing, then they just started shoaling together. I also discovered that the acara is female, explaining the stress in my 55 (two larger male geos) and the severum is male. I'm also noticing this morning that the acara's colors are better than ever. The acara lost his chance to make a good impression when he was dumped by net into the 120, pale as a ghost, and fled into a small corner until the sev came, at which point he loosened up. ??? Oh, and pics
