Fighting cichlids

[mattyr]

Hi All,
I have a problem with my Blue Dolphin and both my electric Yellows. They are fighting and chasing all around the tank. I moved all the driftwood around but they are still fighting. Does anyone have any ideas or do I have to sell one of the fish?

 

[freeskierrocket]

Hi All,
I have a problem with my Blue Dolphin and both my electric Yellows. They are fighting and chasing all around the tank. I moved all the driftwood around but they are still fighting. Does anyone have any ideas or do I have to sell one of the fish?

If you have rocks, etc, and or hiding places, rearrange those , because maybe one of those fish established a territory and is fighting to protect that territory!!!!!! Every time you add a new african pls do so!!!!! or death.... to the cichlids!!!

 

[SphericalCube]

It sounds like you're rearranging their habitat so I'm thinking you just have jackass fish. Are they actually beating each other up or just chasing a lot? Severely damaged fins and loose scales means hospital time but just a few torn fins can be normal in establishing territory. If you're just having a few torn fins leave them be but watch them closely. If you continue to rearrange their territories then they will continue to fight until they've established so give them time (as long as they're not REALLY hurting each other) to establish and your problems might be solved. I would also suggest leaving the lights on 24/7 until you know what's going on b/c that makes them not sleep (won't hurt your fish) and nobody gets ambushed by a more aggressive fish in their sleep. Also lowering the temperature a few degrees will make them less aggressive. If all else fails. . . pick your favorite and trade the others for someone new that might get along better. Good luck.

 

[mike dunagan]

you could also take out all of your fish for a few hours and rearrange the entire tank... The fish will think they are in a new tank and will try to find a new spot... or you can add more fish to your tank to keep them all busy... more fish will calm down mbuna... also the dolphine is not a mbuna. They are open water fish... may want to take him out or if the labs are the only mbuna then take them out... or ignore what I said and try other ideas... they could all work... its up to what you want to do.... hope this helps... if not blame your wife...

 

[Scotty]

Both these fish tend to be of the less aggressive fish from the lake. How many fish do you have in the tank and what are they? How big is the tank? When adding new fish always try and add 3-5 fish rather than 1. The only time you could look at adding 1/2 fish is if they are very small compared to the others.