Does slight overcrowding spread aggression.
- Thread starter camb1988
- Start date
I have seen overcrowding work with CA/SA cichlids. It requires a strict protocol of deep and frequent water changes. I really don't like the look of crowded tanks. Yes, you get to enjoy an abundance of various cichlids, coloration, and sizes but I think you lose a lot of "natural" behavior. All of the crowded tanks that I see have a heavy stock of fish that just swim around aimlessly. There's no real room for territorial, spawning, or feeding behaviors. These are behaviors that I enjoy seeing in my tanks over an abundance of fish. This is just my opinion. I have never overstocked myself so what I say is based purely on what I have witnessed in other tanks. Some people make it work very well and they love it. I just don't see the enjoyment of it.
yeah in my experience it works with American Cichlids too. I also have a 55G growout cichlid tank with:
1 Female Jack
1 Firemouth
1 Geo
1 Tiger Oscar
1 Acei (eeeeeeeep!!!! but it works)
1 Green Severum
with some other non-cichlids.
Only aggression is my little 1.5" firemouth will chase my 3" Geo sometimes. It's also awesome to see a little 1.5" firemouth flare up.
1 Female Jack
1 Firemouth
1 Geo
1 Tiger Oscar
1 Acei (eeeeeeeep!!!! but it works)
1 Green Severum
with some other non-cichlids.
Only aggression is my little 1.5" firemouth will chase my 3" Geo sometimes. It's also awesome to see a little 1.5" firemouth flare up.
My reply was kind of flippant, so I'll expand. Overstocking can help to reduce nuisance aggression. But it goes deeper than just cramming a ton of fishes in the same tank. Careful attention must be given to selection of individual specimans for a community. Personally, I spend at least a half an hour or more choosing an individual fish out of a large group. I look for atitudes. I don't choose the runts, or the most picked on. Likewise, I don't choose the bullies either. A benevolent fish with a confident atitude is best.
Also, care must taken in decorations. I choose to fill my tanks with as much wood and plants as possible. Not only does this create territories (or a "house") for each fish or pair, it cuts down on the "he was looking at me cross ways" factor where two big bullies have to stare each other down twenty four hours a day in an undecorated tank.
In the end, its a crapshoot. You need luck on your side. I've been lucky in my endeavours with all five Parachromis including breeding pairs in the same tank. But yes,it definately does work if you do it right, have some luck, hold your mouth just right, align the moon and stars, etc....
Also, care must taken in decorations. I choose to fill my tanks with as much wood and plants as possible. Not only does this create territories (or a "house") for each fish or pair, it cuts down on the "he was looking at me cross ways" factor where two big bullies have to stare each other down twenty four hours a day in an undecorated tank.
In the end, its a crapshoot. You need luck on your side. I've been lucky in my endeavours with all five Parachromis including breeding pairs in the same tank. But yes,it definately does work if you do it right, have some luck, hold your mouth just right, align the moon and stars, etc....
terd ferguson;4419694; said:
Good info TF, but keep in mind that you have a 360g and the OP has a 55g (hopefully a 100g in a couple of months). I'm not sure if it's possible for all the fish to have their own territories in a 55g or even a 100g no matter how one arranges the decors......so the only way it could work is to pack the tank full so nobody sees anybody else for more than a few seconds, which I'm not a big fan of.
