Hello, I just purchased 2 small parachromis loisellei from a reputable source, there about a half inch each so very tiny lol I saw pics of the parents so I know there not freddys, I was curious if anyone knows how aggressive they are? Online I find all different things, some say there as aggressive as red tiger motas or freddys and others say there very friendly for a parachromis and you can put the them in a semi aggressive community tank so I don’t know what to believe lol
How aggressive are Parachromis loisellei?
- Thread starter anzo1993
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I’ve never kept one, but from what I know they are laid back for a parachromis. Still a parachromis though. They are along the lines of an amphilophus in aggression. Not nearly as bad as jags, motas, or doviis though.
Loiselle and Freddies can both be housed with other cichlids given ample room.
F Fishtank6575 kept a Freddy with a severum, carpintis, and salvini and the Freddy was at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Loiselle and Freddies can both be housed with other cichlids given ample room.
F Fishtank6575 kept a Freddy with a severum, carpintis, and salvini and the Freddy was at the bottom of the hierarchy.
All parachromis are aggressive. I had a then called “ loisellei” (now fredrichsthalii) that was very aggressive. Not sure how they got that reputation as I see many others have the same experience. They just aren’t crazy aggressive like a dovii but still very aggressive.
Not to be rude, but if you don't have experience with them, what is that advice based off?
My experience with what we used to call Loisellei (now they are freddy, and freddy is p. multifasciatus, I believe) is that they are not as bad as perhaps a Dovii or managuense but certainly can still be aggressive fish. Mine held it's own with some large amphilophus and vieja. I would treat them like a motaguense etc., and not expect them to be much less aggressive, especially when breeding.
I was just going off of what I’ve read and some experiences I’ve read. I’m aware my advice is nowhere near as good as someone who has owned this fish.
I know they are still crazy aggressive, just not as bad as other parachromis.
The above comment that says what is your advice based off of... CLASSIC!!! We could cut/paste that in sooooo many threads. I read all the time loiselle are less aggressive and have had different experiences. People comparing to other parachromis so let's go down the line according to my multiple decades of keeping countless specimens starting from big to smaller.
Dovii obviously is king but they babies under 9" and only a few at that size will relentlessly stand up for their rights. from a foot to 20" they got a chip on their shoulder and take many casualties to prove it. When they get real big (if in enough water) they don't really feel threatened and are fairly effective just flexing
Managuensis have the personality of a true texas cichlid in my opinion. They are not the most aggressive but NEVER punk out. When they are the undisputed champ they don't constantly oppressed but do patrol mitigating other disputes
Mota are insane at times. My experience they can be the most aggressive. Possibly from the taste of blood eating their brothers and sisters as fry. Regardless, they can go psycho taking out black nasty, Midas, butticofri, istlanum, you name it
Freddys come from many collection points as well as above mentioned the difference is I found some typically more mellow and some typically more aggressive.
Before we talk loiselle, I'd like to remind myself each fish can have it's own personality fitting the species' normal, but they are all wild animals and can become insane and snap or roll over and hand the belt over without warning. So always have a plan, lol
Now Lois...I got my 1st batch many years ago when I bought RTM and they mailed loiselle. I thought they were late bloomers untill I shipped a buddy some and he said these aren't RTM and he educated me. I always liked there body shape better than RTM and was hooked instantly. Problem was I couldn't find a tank for them cause they would beat the snot out of any fish that couldn't eat them. I've kept tons. I found the females are always wanting to breed even if no male Lois is around. The female can be wicked mean and inspire her mate to greatness. I have never had a pair in a community tank except they held their own. First time I tried I put a 5" pair in with monsters: umbee, trimac, festae, texas, etc and was worried they be a snack BUT within days they had claimed a cave and laid eggs IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TANK. I have had many groups, pairs, individuals and believe they can hold their own in any aquarium with hiding spots and are happy killing tank mates if opportunity arises. Now to prevent these issues and just enjoy their true personalities, give them plenty of water. We need to quit cramming 5 fish in 100gallon tank. Any of the above combos I mentioned above I wouldn't recommend anything less than 8' tank but 12'+ better. Watch some YouTube videos and see 6" loiselle living with 18" umbee and nobody has a ripped fin...coincidence? Of course not. 1500 gallons+, experience and proper care
Dovii obviously is king but they babies under 9" and only a few at that size will relentlessly stand up for their rights. from a foot to 20" they got a chip on their shoulder and take many casualties to prove it. When they get real big (if in enough water) they don't really feel threatened and are fairly effective just flexing
Managuensis have the personality of a true texas cichlid in my opinion. They are not the most aggressive but NEVER punk out. When they are the undisputed champ they don't constantly oppressed but do patrol mitigating other disputes
Mota are insane at times. My experience they can be the most aggressive. Possibly from the taste of blood eating their brothers and sisters as fry. Regardless, they can go psycho taking out black nasty, Midas, butticofri, istlanum, you name it
Freddys come from many collection points as well as above mentioned the difference is I found some typically more mellow and some typically more aggressive.
Before we talk loiselle, I'd like to remind myself each fish can have it's own personality fitting the species' normal, but they are all wild animals and can become insane and snap or roll over and hand the belt over without warning. So always have a plan, lol
Now Lois...I got my 1st batch many years ago when I bought RTM and they mailed loiselle. I thought they were late bloomers untill I shipped a buddy some and he said these aren't RTM and he educated me. I always liked there body shape better than RTM and was hooked instantly. Problem was I couldn't find a tank for them cause they would beat the snot out of any fish that couldn't eat them. I've kept tons. I found the females are always wanting to breed even if no male Lois is around. The female can be wicked mean and inspire her mate to greatness. I have never had a pair in a community tank except they held their own. First time I tried I put a 5" pair in with monsters: umbee, trimac, festae, texas, etc and was worried they be a snack BUT within days they had claimed a cave and laid eggs IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TANK. I have had many groups, pairs, individuals and believe they can hold their own in any aquarium with hiding spots and are happy killing tank mates if opportunity arises. Now to prevent these issues and just enjoy their true personalities, give them plenty of water. We need to quit cramming 5 fish in 100gallon tank. Any of the above combos I mentioned above I wouldn't recommend anything less than 8' tank but 12'+ better. Watch some YouTube videos and see 6" loiselle living with 18" umbee and nobody has a ripped fin...coincidence? Of course not. 1500 gallons+, experience and proper care
And in closing, if you want to refute my above comments and your statement starts off with when I had a half a dozen fish in a 75 gallon aquarium... I don't take that as accurate assessment. People use the word aggressive to loosely with cichlids. We should use the term territorial. Quick analogy. Two pit bulls. One is on a 10-ft chain with a piece of raw meat 11 ft away and the other pit bull runs around all day with his owner on bike rides going in the mountains or in the city to 7-Eleven etc. One you going to say is wicked aggressive and the other one is going to be territorial in his own backyard
I don't have much experience with cichlids but I can tell you what Im seeing at this time in my tanks. One of the things Im learning about cichlids is that each individual fish has its own personality. I cant see this in danios or tetras but its clear as day to me with cichlids. Take that and the fact everyone's tank is different and I don't think we can say a certain cichlid is this or that. Seems we can say in general that cichlids want their own space and for the most part we dont provide them with enough.
My friedrichsthalii / multifasciatus is a male and is around 5". He was in a 300g with a 4'"salvini, 7-8" severum, 7" vieja argentea and a 5" carpintis. He was scared of the others and hid all the time. He was not being bullied, he was just being Freddy. He is now in a 75g with a lyonsi and the same salvini and hes Freddy in that tank too.
In the 300 I replaced Freddy with a loisellei / friedrichsthalii. He is 9" and the biggest fish in there. He is with a 7" argentea, 5" carpintis, 2-4" blackbelts and a 7" amphilophus sagittae. He is submissive to the sagittae and is not aggressive to the others. He likes to eat danios though.
I could swap the Loisellei with a different one tomorrow and the new one might kill the sagittae. Nobody knows for sure.
My friedrichsthalii / multifasciatus is a male and is around 5". He was in a 300g with a 4'"salvini, 7-8" severum, 7" vieja argentea and a 5" carpintis. He was scared of the others and hid all the time. He was not being bullied, he was just being Freddy. He is now in a 75g with a lyonsi and the same salvini and hes Freddy in that tank too.
In the 300 I replaced Freddy with a loisellei / friedrichsthalii. He is 9" and the biggest fish in there. He is with a 7" argentea, 5" carpintis, 2-4" blackbelts and a 7" amphilophus sagittae. He is submissive to the sagittae and is not aggressive to the others. He likes to eat danios though.
I could swap the Loisellei with a different one tomorrow and the new one might kill the sagittae. Nobody knows for sure.
I am going to get into some of the territory issues Mr. Cichlid discussed, as I grew out a group of loiselle in a 110 gallon tank. Of the 6 fish that started at about 1", one female oddly was the fastest grower. I sold a couple once they were 3"-4", and the smaller female I kept killed the much larger female and a male that was an inch or two larger than her.
That left a male and female, the male was about 1.5 times as large as the female, but she was more aggressive than him. They were constantly breeding. I had the pair alone in the tank for about a year. One day I come home from work and the male is beat to hell and is near dead. He ended up dying. I still have the female in a 220 with a couple of adult male jags. She tries to breed with them.
I have kept all of the parachromis species the past 30 years. That female is the most aggressive one I have kept. If she was as big as some of the jags and dovi I have kept she would be a terror. The only dovi I have kept were aggressive, but not psycho like many I have seen on the net. Those two male jags I have are 16"+ and are relatively docile for parachromis. As mentioned before by others, each individual fish varies in the intensity of aggressiveness. Know that all parachromis can range from mildly aggressive to psychotic.
I like the coloration and smaller size of the loiselle (compared to other parachromis).
That left a male and female, the male was about 1.5 times as large as the female, but she was more aggressive than him. They were constantly breeding. I had the pair alone in the tank for about a year. One day I come home from work and the male is beat to hell and is near dead. He ended up dying. I still have the female in a 220 with a couple of adult male jags. She tries to breed with them.
I have kept all of the parachromis species the past 30 years. That female is the most aggressive one I have kept. If she was as big as some of the jags and dovi I have kept she would be a terror. The only dovi I have kept were aggressive, but not psycho like many I have seen on the net. Those two male jags I have are 16"+ and are relatively docile for parachromis. As mentioned before by others, each individual fish varies in the intensity of aggressiveness. Know that all parachromis can range from mildly aggressive to psychotic.
I like the coloration and smaller size of the loiselle (compared to other parachromis).