Has anyone had issues with their female pbass beating up much larger males?

[SaltyPlum]

Ive had my pbass pair for around 6 months now and they share a 350g tank with a gar, male ray and 5 x XL SD.

Ive had no issues with fighting until this afternoon, literally like an hour ago i notice my female beating up my male and she hasn't let up. She is half he's size and he is hiding in bottom corner like a little whimp.

Can anyone explain why she would be doing this?

 

[TheWolfman]

Sounds like they are establishing a pecking order, and since there is only two of them the one is getting all of the aggression. Were they recently added to a different aquarium? You will notice that all of us have multiple cichla to defuse aggression for this exact reason.

 

[SaltyPlum]

Sounds like they are establishing a pecking order, and since there is only two of them the one is getting all of the aggression. Were they recently added to a different aquarium? You will notice that all of us have multiple cichla to defuse aggression for this exact reason.

Ive had them in the same aqurium with the other tank mates mentioned for around 6 months now, including a full grown male JD (forgot to mention that). She occasionally chases a SD from time to time but thats about it. She also tries to bite and chase my hand when i wipe the glass to clean the tank which i find strange, you would normally expect that type of behaviour from a Dovii or flowerhorn.

Not sure why she has singled out my big male. She doesnt harass any of my other fish.

 

[TheWolfman]

Cichla don't seem to care about any other species of fish except their own, that's why you're not seeing any aggression towards other tank mates. There is the unwritten rule of 5 bass seems to be the magic number. Odd numbers works best.

 

[dr exum]

Odd numbers huh? Helpful!

 

[SaltyPlum]

Cichla don't seem to care about any other species of fish except their own, that's why you're not seeing any aggression towards other tank mates. There is the unwritten rule of 5 bass seems to be the magic number. Odd numbers works best.

I did not know that. I bought the pair in hope that they will eventually spawn. Have an extra 75g as a spawn/grow out tank. It's not set up yet, was going to wait until i notice any spawning activity before setting it up.

Ive got the female in my sump for some time out as she was really beating up on my male. Hopefully when i place her back she wont be so aggresive.

 

[Blakewater]

question I have is: What species of cichla is it? A few can be more temperamental than others. But yes, as mentioned, every time I’ve added new bass to a tank there’s some sort of hierarchy breakdown and reestablishment over a few days to a week.

 

[SaltyPlum]

question I have is: What species of cichla is it? A few can be more temperamental than others. But yes, as mentioned, every time I’ve added new bass to a tank there’s some sort of hierarchy breakdown and reestablishment over a few days to a week.

Cichla monoculus

 

[Blakewater]

Cichla monoculus
View attachment 1416122

You’re sure that’s a girl? Looks like a male

 

[SaltyPlum]

You’re sure that’s a girl? Looks like a male

Yeah the female is left of that pic. She's half he's size and was beating up on him. I bought the pair of a guy who had them in a tank with other pbass and large tank mates like aro, gourami, catfish etc.