dealing with aggression

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
T

tcrlightemup

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 27, 2016
29
5
3
34
maryland
Hello everyone.
I have a 40 gallon tank with the following stock...3 yellow tail aceis, 3 blue cobalts, 3 jacobi, 2 red zebras and 3 yellow labs. They have been in the tank together since fry and have not had much problems. I woke up today though to a dead jacobi (maybe a half inch smaller than the biggest who is 4 inches). I know these fish are aggressive and i overstocked accordingly (from what ive read). I have lots of rockwork and caves and a sand substrate. Im wondering what i can do to curb or even take aggression levels down a bit so i dont lose any more fish
 
Are the tank dimensions 36"x18"? You're fish are probably getting to the point where they want territory and will kill anyone that doesn't agree. Even though Jakes are tougher peacocks I still don't think they can stand up to most mbuna. For the fish you have you need at least a 48" tank. Male to female ratio could also be contributing to problems.
 
I was told jakes are mbuna so obviously he was wrong. Also im asking what i can do. I realize this is not the perfect setup but this is what i have. Its 36x 24x 18 on the sticker btw. If i get rid of these fish (return them to a fellow fish enthusiast) i will not have enough money to get another tank stocked. So i will be forced to move on from fish which i dont want to do.

Edit...they are all males at this point
 
you could try regularly rearranging your rock work so they have to spend time learning the layout instead of killing each other
 
  • Like
Reactions: tcrlightemup
trade the 2 jakes that you have left for 4 more yellow labs, its a fair trade since the jakes are worth more than the labs
 
Too many/wrong fish in a small tank. For mbuna I would put 1m:4f yellow labs (from your list) and nothing else.

There is a limit to overstocking where it works to manage aggression and beyond that it will increase aggression.
 
Well this is all confusing. Ive had so many people tell me the opposite of what you guys are saying. Also there are no trades...i give them back and thats it. Hes not the nicest person to deal with. If i wouldve known i vould only have 5 yellow labs in a 40gal tank i wouldnt have gotten it. Seems like way too much work for so few fish. I will be arranging the rocks though. Seems like a solid idea for working with what i have. I appreciate everyones opinion none the less. Its just hard to have been lied to so much and now dealing with the consequences. And putting the consequences on the fish just makes a fishkeeper feel even worse.
 
You could also try to sell them to someone else locally. There is a lot of things you can do with a 40, don't get to discouraged
 
Same thing happened to me...bought the tank first (also 36") and THEN found out the fish I wanted were not suitable. Ten years and nine tanks later...
 
Lol i have a feeling im going to be djransome soon. Already have 2 40g, a 20g and a 10 planted. Along with my beardie, geckos and chameleon. My landlord said no dogs....well ok then haha
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom