Help with my CA cichlids

[Jason_S]

jgentry, didn't you also say your pair are wild caught? have you experienced the same aggression in any of the young they've produced? I ask only because I believe, on average, a wild caught specimen will show quite a bit more aggression and territorial nature than tank raised.

Like I said though, the ONLY reason I disagreed is because I raised those fish and they've been together since 2" so I know their tendencies. Otherwise in general, I agree that if fish start fighting they generally don't stop until someone is dead. These 2 just happened to be aberrations in that regard...they've faced off with, chased and nipped at other fish from time to time but they always mellow out after a day or 2.

 

[jgentry]

jgentry, didn't you also say your pair are wild caught? have you experienced the same aggression in any of the young they've produced? I ask only because I believe, on average, a wild caught specimen will show quite a bit more aggression and territorial nature than tank raised.

Like I said though, the ONLY reason I disagreed is because I raised those fish and they've been together since 2" so I know their tendencies. Otherwise in general, I agree that if fish start fighting they generally don't stop until someone is dead. These 2 just happened to be aberrations in that regard...they've faced off with, chased and nipped at other fish from time to time but they always mellow out after a day or 2.

Lol, no worries. There are no right answers on this stuff unfortunately. A combo that works for one will often not work at all in the same sized tank for someone else.

My wild pair is pretty darn mean. If I stick my hand in the tank it gets bit and bit hard enough to bleed. All of my other grow outs are not that big but still seem pretty aggressive. Like will all of these fish growing them up together seems to give you a much better chance of them getting along. My big male xilo dominates my pond when they are in there. When he swims around everything else avoids him except my male Escondido. He's just not real bright. Typical herichthys, always looking for a fight. He's a real butthead.

 

[jworth]

I will be out of town a lot over the next 2 or 3 days so I am going to wait it out and see how things work out. I rearranged and added some more pots but there is still a good deal of aggression. We'll see. No one is injured right now, just a lot of chasing

 

[jworth]

the tank has really tamed down. only quick bursts now and no all out attacking. the carpintis and the melanarus actually tolerate each other in the same area occasionally. with work being so busy, the video will have to wait for the weekend.

 

[jgentry]

the tank has really tamed down. only quick bursts now and no all out attacking. the carpintis and the melanarus actually tolerate each other in the same area occasionally. with work being so busy, the video will have to wait for the weekend.

Glad they are mostly getting along. My guys are never that friendly. Hell, my pairs don't even get along. I use the term pair losely. They breed, but they don't seem to be to happy about it.