I really like Victorian Cichlids. I was curious if all male Victorian tanks do as well as Malawi. I understand they won't color up the same. But how do they do longer term? are they better under stocked or overstocked to reduce aggression?
You can certainly keep an all male Victorian tank, but you have to buy expensive adult fish to assure males and introduce them to the tank at the same time to avoid target aggression. Victorian are as aggressive as Mbuna and will not accept new fish once the pecking order is established. Once established, you don't have to worry about long term maintenance as Victorian don't live very long with life expectancy 3 to 5 years maximum.
lol, uh...no. You think Mbuna's are nasty? Vic males are worse. I have 7 species, mostly females in a 220 with lots of Malawi Haps and they still fight hard. I've never tried an all male tank, but can't imagine it working.
The theory of the all male tank is that without females, the males are more docile, because the don't breed, it works with Peacocks, haps, and mbuna. It is not usually done with vics as they are simply less colorful with out females, yes they are more docile but at a loss of what makes them really worth keeping.
Ok I have had many of these fish for a few months now, but here they are in my all male Victoria Basin tank
sp#44 Thick Skin
Christmas Fulu and Zebra Obliquidens
Pundimillia macrocephala
Featherfin Squeakers (they look pretty different pattern wise, are they 2 different species?)
I have experimented with keeping vic males together, but it does not by any means guarentee you will have the same results. I do have a few guidelines to give you a better chance at having a more colorful tank without excessive aggression.
1. Add a few of the more attractive females such as zebra obliquidens, rock kribensis, red fin piebalds, or chromogynos, for example. Having a handful of females will keep the males interested in breeding, and therefor cause them to color up better. Sure it will add aggression but what's the point of having a tank where only a couple males have color?
2. Don't have males that look similar in appearance. The more similar two males look, the more likely aggression will be taken to a level where a fish is injured. Males are going to spar over the females some, but if they don't look similar, the winner is far more likely to let the loser surrender without incident.
3. Keep your tank barren. No rocks. No ornaments. Just sand. Some males may still hold a territory in the corner when they sense a ripe female, but most likely none will be territorial on a daily basis, which is generally what leads to vics of different species killing each other. Also if you choose to add a few females, having a barren tank virtually guarentees no hybrid fry will survive. If you are determined to have rocks, you will need an extensive reef with countless hiding places. This can work, but makes it extremely difficult to effectively clean the tank without taking all the rocks out. Too much work for me. I guess maybe if you have one or two tanks it's worth considering.
4. There are a couple different approaches at introducing fish. All small fish at once, or all big fish at once. Mature dominant males that have been fully colored for years will likely stay colored, but you are also more likely to have aggression issues. Smaller fish that have not fully colored yet will more likely get along, but may never color. For a truly spectacular tank, you really want to add all dominant, fully grown males that can't remember the last time they weren't fully colored. You can have a nice looking tank with no females doing this, but all victorians really look the best when they are in breeding displays.
5. Avoid the most aggressive species. Adding "thickskin" or nyererei that have lived alone could spell disaster. Especially if you have similar looking fish. If they have been the only male in their tank, and they are an aggressive species, you will likely have problems. Body shape and general appearance can be as important as color in determining which fish get along as color.
6. It's best to keep your tank a bit on the overcrowded side and do lots of water changes. The fewer males you keep, the more likely aggression is to lead to injury. With 20 males in the tank, it's much easier for the loser of a fight to disappear into the crowd.
In the end, you really can't know what will happen until you try it, but I've kept a couple vic communities in the past with several species colored up in the same tank. It's easier to have a 3 species tank where they all look distinctly different, but it's possible to have 20 different types of males in a tank with most of them colored up. Just be ready to make adjustments because you're likely to end up with some fish that don't get along on your first try.
1. Add a few of the more attractive females such as zebra obliquidens, rock kribensis, red fin piebalds, or chromogynos, for example. Having a handful of females will keep the males interested in breeding, and therefor cause them to color up better. Sure it will add aggression but what's the point of having a tank where only a couple males have color?
2. Don't have males that look similar in appearance. The more similar two males look, the more likely aggression will be taken to a level where a fish is injured. Males are going to spar over the females some, but if they don't look similar, the winner is far more likely to let the loser surrender without incident.
3. Keep your tank barren. No rocks. No ornaments. Just sand. Some males may still hold a territory in the corner when they sense a ripe female, but most likely none will be territorial on a daily basis, which is generally what leads to vics of different species killing each other. Also if you choose to add a few females, having a barren tank virtually guarentees no hybrid fry will survive. If you are determined to have rocks, you will need an extensive reef with countless hiding places. This can work, but makes it extremely difficult to effectively clean the tank without taking all the rocks out. Too much work for me. I guess maybe if you have one or two tanks it's worth considering.
4. There are a couple different approaches at introducing fish. All small fish at once, or all big fish at once. Mature dominant males that have been fully colored for years will likely stay colored, but you are also more likely to have aggression issues. Smaller fish that have not fully colored yet will more likely get along, but may never color. For a truly spectacular tank, you really want to add all dominant, fully grown males that can't remember the last time they weren't fully colored. You can have a nice looking tank with no females doing this, but all victorians really look the best when they are in breeding displays.
5. Avoid the most aggressive species. Adding "thickskin" or nyererei that have lived alone could spell disaster. Especially if you have similar looking fish. If they have been the only male in their tank, and they are an aggressive species, you will likely have problems. Body shape and general appearance can be as important as color in determining which fish get along as color.
6. It's best to keep your tank a bit on the overcrowded side and do lots of water changes. The fewer males you keep, the more likely aggression is to lead to injury. With 20 males in the tank, it's much easier for the loser of a fight to disappear into the crowd.
In the end, you really can't know what will happen until you try it, but I've kept a couple vic communities in the past with several species colored up in the same tank. It's easier to have a 3 species tank where they all look distinctly different, but it's possible to have 20 different types of males in a tank with most of them colored up. Just be ready to make adjustments because you're likely to end up with some fish that don't get along on your first try.
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