Adding a new Sev-- instant problems. HELP!!!

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Kyle Hyde

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 28, 2009
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Los Angeles
Today I picked up a 3" Gold Severum (I think it's male). I added him to my 55 Gallon with a Male Firemouth, Male Blue Acara, and bigger female Sev. He was instantly harrassed so I put a divider in.

What is the best way to introduce a new fish? How long should I leave the divider in? I just wanted to make sure he was settled before he was exposed to the other cichlids. Can I take the divider out tommorrow if I do a little rearranging in decor? And how big does his divided section need to be. I didn't give him that much room because I didn't want to crowd the other fish in.

Please Help!!!!!
 
i would rearange some of your tank decor. but the the thing with agresive cichlids is they dont give up my sererum is bigger than my salvini and i put a devider in for a week and then took it out and it went back to the same thing. what i think happens is the fish already in your tank had come to terms with one another and formed a community and your adding a stang fish to it. severums are agressive i think your female severum might kill the new severum. good luck
 
i think a jack dempsey might help bring order to your tank but he would have to be around 4 to 5 inches it helped in mine.
 
I actually have a female JD in there now but she is still pretty small at around 2".

The female sev didn't seem to mind the male at all. It was just the Firemouth and the Acara.
 
Firemouths can be real a-holes in this regard. Luckily they don't really have the equipment to do serious damage. I would try putting the 2 "problem children" on the small side of the divider (FM and acara) for a few days and let your new severum settle in, then remove the divider. And yes rearrang the decor too.
 
that wierd the acara are one of the peaceful cichlids lol but i have had my fare share of the fire mouths. they can be just like the salvini's
 
It might not be possible to have everybody getting along perfectly all the time. If there's no real damage, I'd say let them "harass" for a little while and see if it gets better over time. Agree with CTU2fan that FM probably won't kill your new sev overnight, but keep a close eye on them...
 
Maybe I will try that. But I'm a little scared that the acara and firemouth will fight a lot if they are both on the smaller side of the divider. What do you think?
 
I would let them sort it out (acara and FM) unless somebody's really getting physically beaten up. Maybe put a bundle of plants on that side so they can get away from each other. What you want to do is shake up the hierarchy, so hopefully whichever fish is doing the most harassing of your new sev gets "punked" a bit by the other, and while this is happening your new sev has a chance to establish himself.
 
Cool. I'm going to try that out
 
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