Are cichlids better off alone?

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breidohrimania

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 10, 2013
14
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New York
Hey guys, unfortunately i had to get rid of my female breidohri due to the constant harassment from the male. The male is pushing 5 inches and has a small nautical hump (I am so proud and excited) but kept the female in a corner where she hid in a bunch of plastic leaves. I felt so bad but could not stand there and she her like that.

So, my question is will my male be ok alone or will he be sad that she is gone? I know he doesn't love her but from the stand point of chasing her he was active and now seems to be a little sad. They were together for one year before this aggressive behavior really started.

Should i consider getting some dither fish or just leave things be?

Thanks,
 
They were the only fish in the tank and the tank is a 55 gallon. I know the tank is small but it had a lot of hiding places and would be the same I think in a larger tank.
 
And fish don't have feelings. May sound like that stereotypical heartless reply, but it's true.

Fish doesn't have the emotional capacity of humans, or primates and stuff even. They mostly 'feel' stressed or 'not stressed' is basically it.

So there is no such thing as 'love' between cichlids, the male just wanted to mate with the female and chased her all over, like all male cichlids eventually want to do.

The male can be stressed out if there's no other fish in the tank, but otherwise provided the right conditions, it can be perfectly fine.
 
In nature cichlids are more social, but even a small cenote holds over a million gallons, and a non-frisky female can just disappear without going far, and a horny male just moves on. There is really no where far enough to go in a 55, or even a 100gal for that matter, they are both mere puddles in comparison to the smallest bodies of water cichlids are found.
Out of sight, out of mind seems to be the cichlid way.
Now if the male had other distractions, say 3 or 4 females, the end result "may" have been less traumatic.
 
I am not saying that the male misses the female like there feeling there. What I meant was there is less activity. The male just stays in his rock cave and is not as active. I have heard that having a few dithers gets some shy fish to become little more active. So, by removing the female does the fish know he/she is alone? or just no one is in his territory for the moment?

I did not purchase two fish hoping to have a male and female, I purchase them to get a male. It just so happened this way. I dont think his aggression was motivated by the need to breed. It was more like aggression like get the F out of my tank. When feeding them the males was fine. After that is was like a car chase scene over and over.

I hope this shines some light on what the purpose of this topic was about.
 
If you want to see this fish out and acting somewhat normal, you need some more fish in the tank. Unfortunatly you are a little restricted in a 55. I would say you need at least 3-4 other fish that can handle living with a Breidohri. Mine is with other vieja's, but you dont have room for that. Luckily for you Breidohris dont get as big as other Veijas. If you just want the male, I would find maybe a male green terror and a salvini, male or female(not both), maybe a nice female Nic, a firemouth or some fish of this nature that dont get too big. Net out your male, completally rearrange the tank and add them all at once and you might have a nice tank. If it was me, I would get the female back put them all in together and down the road they might pair up. then you can decide if you want to keep the pair or not. Just a suggestion, who knows, all fish have thier own personallity, but I dont think you or the Breidohri will enjoy being alone in a tank. Or like "duanes" says 3-4 more Breidoris might work too, untill they out grow that 55.
Good luck
 
Whithout rehashing everything that's already been said I would add it depends on the species. Some cichlid species are more social than others, A large male P. managuense will be perfectly content as a solo fish while Discus & Angelfish for example do beter in groups. So there are several factures and scenarios to take into account before making a broad statement as to yes or no.

To be specific, in this instance with your Breidohri, I would say yes it will be fine as a solo fish. Now you have to ask yourself if you will be ok with it. That's the deciding facture the fish will be fine.
 
Aquanero said:
Whithout rehashing everything that's already been said I would add it depends on the species. Some cichlid species are more social than others, A large male P. managuense will be perfectly content as a solo fish while Discus & Angelfish for example do beter in groups. So there are several factures and scenarios to take into account before making a broad statement as to yes or no.

To be specific, in this instance with your Breidohri, I would say yes it will be fine as a solo fish. Now you have to ask yourself if you will be ok with it. That's the deciding facture the fish will be fine.
Click to expand...

I agree with Aquanero


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