Adding hiding places (i.e more rock) will only establish more hiding places upping chances of cichlids becoming more agressive
At my wits end with aggression...
- Thread starter Dark Rose
- Start date
I've always heard peacocks and has were pretty well compatible... I knew the mbuna were risky and the firemouth could be hit or miss...
Problem is most of the Lfs near me don't get any cichlids big enough for my tanks since they've grown up. Their fish are 1.5" or so and a couple of mine are pushing 5"....
Sent from my SM-N900V using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
This is why I stopped keeping mbuna and eventually just stopped with malawis in general.
It can go different ways and everyones tank is different. For me adding more hiding spots worked. Adding more fish only ended up in more deaths for me. After many losses my tank fiinally balanced out and found its equalibrium (with I started out with a lot, added a lot and I ended up with 6). It lasted for awhile and then my ahli and aratus got bigger and beat the crap out of everyone else and I quit and moved to peacocks only. I wouldn't mix the peacocks/mbuna, it never worked well for me at least. I've had a few haps that held there own with my mbuan for a bit. I left malawis all together and went to lake tang. I would keep the firemouth out of that tank as well. In my experience anyways the firemouths I've owned did not hold there own very well with more aggressive fish.
If you want to try adding bigger fish you can always look to order online. Though if you keep mbuna it's just something you will have accept. Even if you find equlibrium you never know how long its gonig to last. Usually larger tanks with more space and a ton of fish seem to work out better. In my case more fish did not (but i was probably an exception to that - larger tank and more fish, the right mix, seems to work better). Good luck.
It can go different ways and everyones tank is different. For me adding more hiding spots worked. Adding more fish only ended up in more deaths for me. After many losses my tank fiinally balanced out and found its equalibrium (with I started out with a lot, added a lot and I ended up with 6). It lasted for awhile and then my ahli and aratus got bigger and beat the crap out of everyone else and I quit and moved to peacocks only. I wouldn't mix the peacocks/mbuna, it never worked well for me at least. I've had a few haps that held there own with my mbuan for a bit. I left malawis all together and went to lake tang. I would keep the firemouth out of that tank as well. In my experience anyways the firemouths I've owned did not hold there own very well with more aggressive fish.
If you want to try adding bigger fish you can always look to order online. Though if you keep mbuna it's just something you will have accept. Even if you find equlibrium you never know how long its gonig to last. Usually larger tanks with more space and a ton of fish seem to work out better. In my case more fish did not (but i was probably an exception to that - larger tank and more fish, the right mix, seems to work better). Good luck.
I think I'm just giving up. I removed the main bully and victim, today we have a new bully and new victim...
My Malawi Eye biter is now beating the tar out of my venustus...
Looks like the comprisseps (sp?) Will be going to the Lfs tomorrow, no time before work today? And hopefully the venustus lives...
Sent from my SM-N900V using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
My Malawi Eye biter is now beating the tar out of my venustus...
Looks like the comprisseps (sp?) Will be going to the Lfs tomorrow, no time before work today? And hopefully the venustus lives...
Sent from my SM-N900V using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
I am sorry to hear you are having more problems. Its up to you as to what you want to do. If you are thinking of an alternative that you can do, you could possible try an all male peacock tank or something along those lines, that should work out well.
I think maybe next weekend I'll run down south. Bluegrass Aquatics has a retail location there. I got my first batch there with rather mixed results, but now that I have a better idea of what I'm looking for maybe I can pick up another couple peacocks for my tank that are large enough.
Aggression doesn't seem to be settling down, but seems to be spread out more again, so maybe it was just the new dynamic for a couple days...
Sent from my SM-N900V using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Aggression doesn't seem to be settling down, but seems to be spread out more again, so maybe it was just the new dynamic for a couple days...
Sent from my SM-N900V using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
I am really sorry to hear this Dark Rose. It could be any combination of the following factors
Not enough space
not enough fish
not enough territories
Problem is you never really know what the problem is, and having a few africans together tends to mean they get more heavily bullied... but sometimes it works out. In general africans are completely random and its just luck if it works or not. Here are my experiences
My dad had a 3x2x2, mixed mbuna and a few haps like livingstoni, complete rock wall at back, no issues for years
I had the same 3x2x2 tank and stocked it with tangynikans, lightly stocked and no issues, even got the Julidichromis to breed
switched the same 3x2x2 tank to mixed Mbuna and hap with a single large rock pile in the middle, almost up to the surface, no issues. If i remember correctly I had . N polystigma, a few M. Grashekei, L. Fuellbourni, a random hybrid, super red peacock, some yellow labs, basically a nice mix. Absolutely no issues, switched over to marine in that tank.
Few years later a tank that was around 4x12x18
2 bumblebees, 3 zebras, 3 auratus (m+f+f) a convict that refused to get caught and a thick lipped hap.
tank had a partial rock wall
Constant aggression, constant deaths and fighting and moving and adding, basically like you are having.
Now my uncle has a big 6x2x2 with over 100 fish in it. the tanks been set up for over 5 years now, some HUGE fish in there mostly fully grown.
Loads and loads of Mbuna, he scoops fry out all the time and puts them in a grow tank, a bunch of really large haps too. He has absolutely no issues, the entire back of the tank is rockwork too.
Why post all this information? Because I think I may have stumbled across something somewhat relevant. a mixed african tank should be at least 2' wide. Maybe its that wide large footprint that helps the establishment of territories and gives the fish room to escape and avoid confrontation? All he display tanks I have seen in LFS` have always been at least 2' wide and contain at least one large pile, or a large back wall of rockwork.
Whats the dimensions of your tank?
Not enough space
not enough fish
not enough territories
Problem is you never really know what the problem is, and having a few africans together tends to mean they get more heavily bullied... but sometimes it works out. In general africans are completely random and its just luck if it works or not. Here are my experiences
My dad had a 3x2x2, mixed mbuna and a few haps like livingstoni, complete rock wall at back, no issues for years
I had the same 3x2x2 tank and stocked it with tangynikans, lightly stocked and no issues, even got the Julidichromis to breed
switched the same 3x2x2 tank to mixed Mbuna and hap with a single large rock pile in the middle, almost up to the surface, no issues. If i remember correctly I had . N polystigma, a few M. Grashekei, L. Fuellbourni, a random hybrid, super red peacock, some yellow labs, basically a nice mix. Absolutely no issues, switched over to marine in that tank.
Few years later a tank that was around 4x12x18
2 bumblebees, 3 zebras, 3 auratus (m+f+f) a convict that refused to get caught and a thick lipped hap.
tank had a partial rock wall
Constant aggression, constant deaths and fighting and moving and adding, basically like you are having.
Now my uncle has a big 6x2x2 with over 100 fish in it. the tanks been set up for over 5 years now, some HUGE fish in there mostly fully grown.
Loads and loads of Mbuna, he scoops fry out all the time and puts them in a grow tank, a bunch of really large haps too. He has absolutely no issues, the entire back of the tank is rockwork too.
Why post all this information? Because I think I may have stumbled across something somewhat relevant. a mixed african tank should be at least 2' wide. Maybe its that wide large footprint that helps the establishment of territories and gives the fish room to escape and avoid confrontation? All he display tanks I have seen in LFS` have always been at least 2' wide and contain at least one large pile, or a large back wall of rockwork.
Whats the dimensions of your tank?
I belive it's 48x18x24, standard 75 gallon. I wouldn't have space if it was 24 wide...
Sent from my SM-N900V using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Sent from my SM-N900V using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
I don't know about the 24" wide idea. My 220G is 24" wide and like I said in my earlier posts I was unable to keep a few mature mbunas in my all male/hap tank. Mbunas are just too territorial and mean to be kept with haps and peacocks. They should be in with a tank of themselves.
OK i know what you are going through as i had the same problem a month or so ago. here is what i did and it has worked great. i first took everything out of the tank. the fish are fighting over territory. if you take it all away, they will have nothing to fight about. At the same time you remove all the stuff, give the tank a good cleaning and water change. not only because it is a good time to clean were the deco was, but it just futher disturbs and confuses the fish. Next, go to the store and buy yourself more fish. try to put 1 fish per two gallons aprox. I know this seems like a lot but with good filtration, it is done all the time. obviously this rule only appies to the smaller cichlids like the mbunas. the larger haps, things like that, count them as two fish.
