My tank is a 55 that started out about a month ago now with 8 fish. One hongi, 2 acei, 2 johannii, 2 peacocks, and a senegal bichir. Yesterday morning I found that my albino peacock was killed by the other fish, and today I found my bichir belly up with signs of being attacked by other fish. The problem is I NEVER see it happen! And this morning the bichir was fine, so it happened during the day while I was at work. Is this possibly aggression coming from the fish getting more mature? Plus I know that I need more fish in the tank, but I can't do it right at the moment because I'm about to leave the country for 2 weeks. Will this continue until only 1 fish is left? Until I overstock the tank?
Aggression?
- Thread starter Wigglesworth
- Start date
That propably your hongi mate. 55 gal tank is too small for that many spiecies. Definetely too small for aulonocaras. To keep them with mbuna you will need much more bigger tank. For 55 gal i would not recommend more than two types of mbuna - 1f +2,3f no more.
I disagree. Eight fish isn't too many for a tank that size. I've had 10 Africans in a 55 for over two years now, all fully grown and they do fine. I've only lost one cichlid in there in that time. I've never kept Johanni, but aren't they a little too aggressive to keep in a community tank? At the same time are you sure it wasn't a disease that killed them? I've seen fish get picked on, I've seen them get nipped at while they're sick, but I've yet to see a cichlid kill another cichlid over night or in a single day. Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable will reply to this thread.