Calming down Melanchromis Auratus 55g

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Eläköön

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 11, 2008
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Aşgabat Türkmenistan
Hi all, I have a 55g filled with about 10 african cichlids, the boss of the tank suprisingly is an auratus, I gave him 2 females to help curb his aggression but he is still being boisorous I was wondering if getting him a few more females would calm him down, or perhaps just getting some more fish in the tank to even out aggression?

the fish are all about 2"-3" there are some zebras, yellow labs, blue dolphins and one peacock.

thanks El

ps ive kept africans for years so I'm no noob I just havent kept auratus before :)
 
The Aurtus is going to kill the pea and dolphin. These guys are mean and usually are best kept alone. The pea and Dolphin should not be in the same tank as any Mbuna. They are not a good match.
 
I appreciate the input but like i said ive kept various africans in the past and have never had any problems mixing haps and Mbuna, I'm well aware of this websites reputation concerning such matters so i would appreciate if I could get a responce concerning whether to add more fish to curb aggression,

IF the only thing I can do is to remove the fish then I will have to, Im just looking for alternatives
 
Only possible solution I can think of would be to place several sight blocks across the tank. You can use high decor or tall plants. Have more rock caves then you have fish. Lower your temp to 72 to 76 degrees. Feed twice a daily. And overstocking is a good thing with chiclids. I use 1 inch per gallon and then add 10% more fish. So an examble of a 55 gallon tank at adult size would have 11 fish. Add 10% of 1.1 fish (I never round down) so 13 fish would be what I would try. Also double filtering and weekly water changes of 50%. If aggression occurs, rearrange the entire tank. Also removing fish while your doing the rearranging and then place them back in at the same time helps too.

Good Luck
 
Your welcome, A couple other things is keep the female population very low. When they begin the spawn cycle the aggression will get out of control very fast. This will be when you could possibly lose fish. All the males will be competing to breed with her.
 
I think the adding of the females was not good. Also if you possibly have any other female Melanochromis (johanni, chipokae, or interruptus) he may have also been trying to claim those as "his" females. I've had my Auratus for a little over a year, with all the different africans in my sig and have no problems with that mix, the only other Melanochromis I have is a Male Johanni, and havent had a problem. BUT there is "hyper aggression" the equivilent to going psychotic... so if none of the tips from here work, I suggest rehoming him and just sticking with one of the females which arent nearly as bad

good luck

PS to add on to one thing that Alton mentioned, when you take them out to rearrange the tank.... make sure he is the last one to go back in... preferably wait as long as possible, if you have a sick tank or something to hold him in for a couple of hours or days would be ideal, but if not... stretch it as long as you can, let all of the other fish settle in and claim territory, then he will end up being the "new guy" and may possibly tone him down a little...
 
Good tip Dave! Thanks for adding. How we all get better and allow this hobby to get even better.
 
Three ways to go:

-Leave it be: He will kill the females, along with other fish in the tank until both females are gone.
-Add 3-4 more females: He will kill rival males in the tank. Surviving fish will spend the majority of the time in the opposite last foot of the 55.
-Remove him/move him to a larger tank: best option.

My auratus had no females in the tank and was terrible in a 110 until I moved him to a 180 gallon tank. He simmered down a lot at that point. Females will only increase aggression dramatically, not reduce it. I believe that the only way to keep auratus in a group is to give them a species tank (75 gallons+) and provide 6-8 females for the single male. He may be fine now when small, but what happens when he gets 4" long? (he will).

I know that you'll probably jump on me for not telling you what you want to hear. Sorry about that. Blame the chain stores for selling "hearty" African cichlids.

Site breaks and hiding places only go so far for so long when it comes to super aggressive mbuna. Adequate tank size and proper ratios are the only recipe for success.

Good luck.
 
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