Can cichlids be friends with each other?

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Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2012
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Ohio
my question is can my fish be actual friends or could they be partnering to mate or am i just making something out of nothing. and by this I mean can some cichlids tolerate other cichlids? What i'm trying to say is that in my tank i have a 6" male JD and a 3.5" female(?) jag who get along pretty well(knock on wood). they are like peanut butter and jelly. if you see one he is with the other. I bought the jag at a very small size(<1") and had her with the jd(at the time he was 5.5") from day one. they've just always got along really well. never fight over food or anything. once i started adding other fish these two just stay in their own clique. at there current sizes i have them in a 180G tank with a 12" clown knife, 14" achara catfish, 16" FL gar, and 10" poly ornate. i'm very aware that the jag could get eaten but she holds her own extremely well and since she never leaves the big Dempsey's side i think he is sort of protecting her. i recently bought a pvc pipe for my big achara to call home and sure enough the jag took over it pretty quickly. and that jag will fight anyone that comes near except the Dempsey. those two just chill there all the time. like my clown knife could beat the tar out of her and she holds off until jaydee pulls up and then the knife leaves. they seem to actually like each other. is that possible for fish?


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Fish are gregarious when young because it helps them stay alive and some do tolerate each other very well. They wouldn't be what we call friends but tolerate each other


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Yes - it certainly is possible. Even (Or possibly especially) with adults - Case in point: Many large, adult oscars do form friendships with each other, and this usually isn't because they want to mate.
 
Things could change in an instant. As they grow larger and mature things will most likely turn nasty. Wouldn't be surprised if it came from the Jag.
 
the jag can be very nasty to other fish even at this small size. not nasty to jaydee though. i know it'll end someday but I have an empty 75 gallon tank for her when that day comes. i'm really enjoying this companionship. it shows that even fish need friends to get by. really a cool experience. if people are interested i can update and get pictures.


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I would say in one experience I do believe my 2 fish have developed a friendship. In my tank I have uaru, green and red sevs. At my local pet store they were holding a uaru and a green sev in the same tank with one another. From doing my research and having kept uarus in the past I know that there a schooling chiclid so him being alone didn't sit well with me and I already had some. So I decided to get him and my gf wanted the sev to so what the hell. From that day since I bought them from the same tank they always hang out together in the tank. They sometimes nudge one another and I even seen my uaru collect enough food for the sev spit it out and share it with him/her. It's a very interesting behavior between the both of them.


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