Can chocolate cichlids be kept together?
- Thread starter Cohazard
- Start date
The shop where I got my choc had a big tank set up with a bunch of cichlids in it including 8-10 adult chocolates. Random stuff...fronts, oscars, I think a texas etc. Anyway there didn't seem to be any aggression among the chocolates, but there were more females than males. I think if you did a group you'd want to more females, or all males.
How big is the tank you're shooting for? I have a poly in with mine and they ignore each other. My chocolate is more of a chaser/bluffer than a fighter.
How big is the tank you're shooting for? I have a poly in with mine and they ignore each other. My chocolate is more of a chaser/bluffer than a fighter.
I'll be a little concerned - 1. they get pretty big and 2. they are actually quite aggressive when breeding.
I wouldn't do it bro, chocolates are notoriously violent within their own species - if you don't have at least a 300 gallon tank you're probably going to wind up with dead fish.
That one I gave you was pretty aggressive towards anything in the tank, I had him in with peaceful fish such as geophagus orange heads and angelfish...he still staked out his own little territory and did not let anything near it.
All reports I've read of on the fish say they simply can't be kept together outside of mated pairs.
That one I gave you was pretty aggressive towards anything in the tank, I had him in with peaceful fish such as geophagus orange heads and angelfish...he still staked out his own little territory and did not let anything near it.
All reports I've read of on the fish say they simply can't be kept together outside of mated pairs.
Thank you for the help!
Maybe it's just me, but I don't consider 12" fish to be that large anymore lol
Jason the one I got from you would fight with the severum, and you're right, he did stake out his own spot in the tank.
Maybe I'll just go with a single one again. John has that chocolate and it looks goood!
Maybe it's just me, but I don't consider 12" fish to be that large anymore lol
Jason the one I got from you would fight with the severum, and you're right, he did stake out his own spot in the tank.
Maybe I'll just go with a single one again. John has that chocolate and it looks goood!
I have kept and bred chocolates for years, it started with a pair I got from lfs about 4 years ago, the owner said they were a pair but they never bonded or spawned. I got a pair from Rapps 12/06 and the spawned at about 4-5" and even though the male has passed the female is only 7" I currentl have a few dozen f1 adult fry from the pair, check my ad "chocolate cichlids" for pics, I'll bump it up. I think my domestic chocolates grew a lot larger. I currently keep from 6-8 adults in a 125 gal with C Micrthalmus 5-8", a pair of green terrore 5-6", a pair of FO P. freddies and they spawn constantly with mild agression during breeding. I have kept chocolates with many types of cichlids mild and agressive, the thjing I appreciate the most about them is the fact that they get along well with everybody. I have yet to have to remove a chocolate due to violence. You will see from the pics that I have a lot of experience with them. The one exception is the lone FO female who lives in my 180 gal with an insane male grammode who is extremely agressive, I only see her at feeding time when she leaves her cave but no cuts or scratches. I had a lot to say but my experiences are different than what I was reading. If you would like some good quality chocolates let me know.
Yeah bud, severums, oscars, anything with a similar physical shape is fair game in the cichlid world. But if you really want to see them go at it throw another chocolate in - wooooo.
It's like african mbuna's, if you get a large number then it spreads the aggression wide enough to no deaths. Unlike africans though - our favorite fish are bruisers, so you'd need a huge tank to do that in.
It's like african mbuna's, if you get a large number then it spreads the aggression wide enough to no deaths. Unlike africans though - our favorite fish are bruisers, so you'd need a huge tank to do that in.
Wow,
first, welcome to MFK! Sounds like you'll be a great memeber to have around with all your experience in breeding these cichlids!
second, thank you for the input.
I have read that they can be aggro with conspecifics, so I wondered if keepign them in a group would tone it down, and from two people it sounds like it may.
I have a 120g tank, 4'x2'x2', I was thinking of keeping a group of 4, with my polypterus collection.
I never would have thought that so many fish breeding could be kept in a 125.
first, welcome to MFK! Sounds like you'll be a great memeber to have around with all your experience in breeding these cichlids!
second, thank you for the input.
I have read that they can be aggro with conspecifics, so I wondered if keepign them in a group would tone it down, and from two people it sounds like it may.
I have a 120g tank, 4'x2'x2', I was thinking of keeping a group of 4, with my polypterus collection.
I never would have thought that so many fish breeding could be kept in a 125.
That might work out Serg - I don't know if you've ever seen a full grown chocolate? They get HUGE, bigger than most oscar's. I'd compare their bodies to a pearsii. I think the main problem would arise - in that situation - with maturing issues.
If I went that route I would start out with 6-8 and as they grow let them weed out the weaker ones. As you already well know, anything under the number of 5 can leave you with bad results in aggressive cichlids. The stronger ones will kill off the weaker until you're left with two that just duke it out all the time, y'know?
I say if it's really what you want to do then go for it, put a lot of line of sight breaks in the tank. I'd say driftwood and large anubias plants - but they will uproot just about anything they can when they reach a decent size. If you can provide enough line of sight breaks for them to scoot through when they're battling it out there's a good chance.
I would be more comfortable with a 180 gallon
EDIT: If you can get some amazonian swords early on and let them get a nice strong root ball going while the chocolates are still young that would look great too
If I went that route I would start out with 6-8 and as they grow let them weed out the weaker ones. As you already well know, anything under the number of 5 can leave you with bad results in aggressive cichlids. The stronger ones will kill off the weaker until you're left with two that just duke it out all the time, y'know?
I say if it's really what you want to do then go for it, put a lot of line of sight breaks in the tank. I'd say driftwood and large anubias plants - but they will uproot just about anything they can when they reach a decent size. If you can provide enough line of sight breaks for them to scoot through when they're battling it out there's a good chance.
I would be more comfortable with a 180 gallon
EDIT: If you can get some amazonian swords early on and let them get a nice strong root ball going while the chocolates are still young that would look great too