black belt cichlid aggression

[Apollyeon]

has anyone owned these and kept them with midas,midevils, i have a large black belt pair that seem to have a hatred for midevils in particular. my pair fights each other most of the time until they see one of these or multiple and then they team up against it

 

[duanes]

These are some of the most aggressive of the Vieja species I have kept, although tank size has a lot to do with how aggressive they get.
For a mixed cichlid community you "might" get away with a 300 gal tank or larger for adults.
For a compatible pair of adults, nothing smaller than a 6 ft tank for just the 2 and no other cichlids (smallish, fast, non competitive non cichlids are often ignored). But even in a 6ft tank, the pair bond can be fragile.
V maculicuada is one of the most successful and most widespread of the Central American cichlids, ranging from Belize and south into Panama,
and this aggression may be "one" of the reasons for that success. They are able to stand their ground against any other cichlids including any Amphilophus, and even large Parachromis including P. dovii
Another is their ability to tolerate sea water. They are often seen in river mouths and even temporarily in the ocean itself munching marine algae

 

[Apollyeon]

These are some of the most aggressive of the Vieja species I have kept, although tank size has a lot to do with how aggressive they get.
For a mixed cichlid community you "might" get away with a 300 gal tank or larger for adults.
For a compatible pair of adults, nothing smaller than a 6 ft tank for just the 2 and no other cichlids (smallish, fast, non competitive non cichlids are often ignored). But even in a 6ft tank, the pair bond can be fragile.
V maculicuada is one of the most successful and most widespread of the Central American cichlids, ranging from Belize and south into Panama,
and this aggression may be "one" of the reasons for that success. They are able to stand their ground against any other cichlids including any Amphilophus, and even large Parachromis including P. dovii
Another is their ability to tolerate sea water. They are often seen in river mouths and even temporarily in the ocean itself munching marine algae

I wasnt sure if its something about amphilophus in general that sets these guys off they get along just fine with my oscar pair,,,these are all really large fish 10-12 inches give or take..for whatever reason if i put a midevil in the same tank thats all they want to do is fight them..and normally the male will get help from the female if hes unable to deal with it..strange how when its just them they do nothing but fight each other but they will for sure team up when its needed.this is in a 6 foot tank..i do have an 800 gallon mini pond setup in the garage thats where they main home is i brought them inside to be able to enjoy them up close. hes normally not that bad with other types of fish its just for whatever reason something orange he goes berzerk until i remove it. i will say the pond is majority midevils all adults and that is their pond as they are the only fish that spawn and they eat first, get the best territories etc..the oscars and black belts keep to themselves in their particular area of the pond maybe a foot away from each others space without issues