Green Terror causing trouble

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Rachel.Cody

Rachel.Cody

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Nov 2, 2014
1,215
20
38
Ohio
So we got our GT Wednesday and he was completely fine. His only other tank mate was our Venezuela pike. The pike is about 5" and the GT is 4". All was good for two days, they were eating together and all that but last night I bought a 3" green Severum and put him in there and immediately the GT was chasing and nipping, even at the pike. The green Severum was in the corner behind the foam filter all night long and hasn't moved. Is the problem my GT or my Severum?i watched a video on YouTube saying to keep cichlid aggression down I need to put in more fish. Is this correct or does someone need to be moved? They're in a 75g right now, just the three of them. There are hiding places for every one in there. I have another tank with two sun cats, a channel cat and 3 African cichlids. Should I move someone there? Any help is appreciated.


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They're probably reestablishing the pecking order. Best idea would have been to rearrange decor on introducing the Sev.

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It seems that the appearance and coloration of the Green Severum has created tolerance issues for the Green Terror. Overall, the Green Terror wants to be the dominant Cichlid in the tank and by adding the Severum, the Green Terror now wants all tank mates out. In other words, he's p*ssed off!

First, I would make a choice between keeping either the Severum or the Green Terror. The Terror is currently the issue in terms of aggression and there won't be a cure for this until one of these two are moved or dead. Once a Cichlid has decided it does not like another, it is essentially impossible to amend. The Pike may still be alright with the Terror if you move the Severum out and rearrange the tanks decorations to allow new territories to be established.

A 75 Gallon is a difficult aquarium to keep a Green Terror in with other Cichlids. Basically, it is too small to be considered a community tank and too large to just have the Green Terror. I would keep the Pike, remove the Severum or Green Terror and see if things can work themselves out.

If you decide to keep the Green Terror and issues still persist, consider adding some target fish to help out the Pike. Fish that are not Cichlids and are large and fast enough to tolerate the Green Terrors menacing behavior.

Also, keep in mind that you gave 2 days for the Terror and Pike to settle in, but then suddenly added in another Cichlid. Usually, this creates issues. As a general rule, it is better to add fish of a similar size at the same time to not allow territories to be formed beforehand.
 
well hes killed one fish already, so i wouldnt add anything.

the longer you wait to add something the more territorial the green terror will become.

if i had to make a bet id say the pike will end up making the life of green terror miserable in the long run.
 
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