Amphilophus hating Blackbelt?

[Amphilophus88]

Hi,
I was just wondering if some of you guys keep any Amphilophus with a Vieja Maculicauda.
I have tried 3, the first one was Zaliosus who really beat the crap out of him. I then returned the Zaliosus.

Right now the Vieja is in his own tank.
But before that I had an Amarillo beating him up, when I removed the Amarillo my Midas started attack my Blackbelt.

Weird thing is, my Zaliosus, Amarillo and Midas aren't really aggressive to other fish, it's just the Blackbelt that they seem to hate.

So any succes in keeping these together without the Amphilophus beating up a Blackbelt?

 

[Jason_S]

all depends on tank size, how you have the decor setup, how young the fish were when they were introduced and the personality of the individual fish. in the right setup you should be able to keep them together without issue but as I mentioned there are a lot of variables.

 

[Amphilophus88]

all depends on tank size, how you have the decor setup, how young the fish were when they were introduced and the personality of the individual fish. in the right setup you should be able to keep them together without issue but as I mentioned there are a lot of variables.

I know, but the growing up together thing obviously didn't make a difference. I even had a Synspilum in this tank and they didn't bother him either, they just hate Blackbelts, all 3 of them. Well all 2 since the Zaliosus is gone.

I tried without hiding places, with a little hiding places and with a lot of hiding places.

 

[Amphilophus88]

bump

 

[Jason_S]

some fish just won't get along. It's not a matter of one species vs. the other...just these individual fish that simply won't get along.

 

[Oscar Mike]

some fish just won't get along. It's not a matter of one species vs. the other...just these individual fish that simply won't get along.

I agree, Ive seen people that were able to keep midas in a community tank but mine would kill anything I put with him regardless of tank size. I would just be happy he's ok with your viejas and you dont have to keep a seperate tank for him like I did

 

[Snowflake311]

Its like this for lots of cichlids. I find that if you add more fish it can help. My Severum and True parrot fish wanted to kill eachother. I took one out move stuff around then changed my stocking. When I added 2 Uarus they seem to keep everyone in order. The tank is over stock but they all get along. I'm scared to move any of them since all is good right now.

Take all fish out go a big cleaning when you move everything thing around maybe add some new stuff. Then add another fish to the mix. Add all at once and wait.

 

[Amphilophus88]

I agree, Ive seen people that were able to keep midas in a community tank but mine would kill anything I put with him regardless of tank size. I would just be happy he's ok with your viejas and you dont have to keep a seperate tank for him like I did

Uhh..he's not okay with my Viejas. That's the whole point, right now I keep my Amarillo and Midas in a community with Green Terrors and Jack Dempseys.. just can't keep em with Blackbelts.

Its like this for lots of cichlids. I find that if you add more fish it can help. My Severum and True parrot fish wanted to kill eachother. I took one out move stuff around then changed my stocking. When I added 2 Uarus they seem to keep everyone in order. The tank is over stock but they all get along. I'm scared to move any of them since all is good right now.

Take all fish out go a big cleaning when you move everything thing around maybe add some new stuff. Then add another fish to the mix. Add all at once and wait.

Thanks.. but the overstocking thing doesn't work. Tried that already, tried dithers as well. They just ignore the rest of the fish and go straight for the Blackbelt. Doesn't matter how many fish, doensn't matter if there are hiding places or not..


I took the Blackbelt out 2 weeks ago because the beating up didn't stop. He is in a 90 by himself now, but I have no idea how to ever put him back in my tank.

 

[Amphilophus88]

some fish just won't get along. It's not a matter of one species vs. the other...just these individual fish that simply won't get along.

It's not really individual if all 3 of them hate that fish?

 

[Jason_S]

It's not really individual if all 3 of them hate that fish?

So what do you want? Someone to say that yes, all Amphilophus are intolerant of Vieja maculicauda?

I have 4 Amphilophus ranging from 5-10" SL with a blackbelt. The blackbelt is about 4". They get along just fine. So, no it is not an issue of Amphilophus versus V. maculicauda.

Your Amphilophus do not like your black belt. There's no way to force them to like the black belt. You could try getting a larger tank. You could try removing all fish, completely redecorating the tank, put the black belt back in for a few hours and then readd the Amphilophus. Will this work? There is no way to know.

The bottom line is that your fish do not like your black belt based on the personalities of your fish and the circumstances involved with them coming to be housed together. But to say that no Amphilophus will ever get along with a black belt based on the circumstances you are experiencing right now is simply not true.