IM IN NEED OF HELP ASAP with green terror and macaw cichlid aggression
- Thread starter djsaltynuts
- Start date
You should see my 60 gallon, then we can talk overstocked...
It’s good to hear the terror is calming down, that’s a good sign. If you are really worried about fighting while away, you should consider a divider, but it probably will work out in the end.
I don’t have experience with Nicaraguanese, but have kept a gt for a bit (a 1 eyed balloon, so barely a functioning terror), but they can be relentless.
It probably will be fine while away, when young the fighting is more laid back, not as intense. When they get older it may be worse. Has it just been lip locking or was there more damaging fighting involved?
Also, dithers are great. I have a mixed school of giant danios, Aussie rainbows, and Buenos Aires tetras, and it keeps the cichlids entertained and off of each other. Only problem is the leporinus (they like to target and destroy fish they don’t like) who hates my severum. Not sure how it will play out once the Dempsey can eat the dithers though.
It’s good to hear the terror is calming down, that’s a good sign. If you are really worried about fighting while away, you should consider a divider, but it probably will work out in the end.
I don’t have experience with Nicaraguanese, but have kept a gt for a bit (a 1 eyed balloon, so barely a functioning terror), but they can be relentless.
It probably will be fine while away, when young the fighting is more laid back, not as intense. When they get older it may be worse. Has it just been lip locking or was there more damaging fighting involved?
Also, dithers are great. I have a mixed school of giant danios, Aussie rainbows, and Buenos Aires tetras, and it keeps the cichlids entertained and off of each other. Only problem is the leporinus (they like to target and destroy fish they don’t like) who hates my severum. Not sure how it will play out once the Dempsey can eat the dithers though.
its allot of lip locking because the macaw will defend itself and it becomes allot of sparring i was just concerned because it looked the gt was stronger and would eventually win the fight then bully the fish to death. in the past couple minutes behavior has completely changed. and my yoyo loaches serve the same purpose as they like to “wrestle” and play with the cichlids. as well as my gourami who will break up fights and intimidate a fish if theyre chasing. both fish took some damage over night. the most converning damage is the nips on the dorsal fin of the macaw. and my green terror is like the most unlaid back fish ive ever owned honestly. hes like a mbunax2 except usually he doesn’t leave the glass because he likes to attack his reflection which is what made me concerned. ive been looking for a schooling fish to add for them to chase. im interested to hear how the rainbows do with your cichlids i really really wanted to add some but id only heard bad things about it on this site so i figured id wait for a new tank.
(update) the fish finally worked out their territories i think. the gt wont let the macaw past the 1/3 mark in the tank. the macaw has extremely similar coloring to the green terrors in the Lfs and so im pretty sure the green terror thinks thats what this is and thats why its showing out so much and being so aggressive. thanks to everyone who responded!
The rainbowfish are amazing. They have occasional nips and their mouths are a little damaged from the jd trying to lip lock them, but otherwise hold up nicely. They aren’t even afraid though, they all loosely school throughout the tank (sign they are happy), I only see them tightly together when the leporinus goes crazy. They take it all in stride and are doing wonderful. They’ve been in there since about May (I think). They also get longer and fatter than giant danios, so less of a risk of being eaten.
I tried silver dollars before, but they got too beat up so I had to move them.
I’m surprised the Oscar doesn’t do more to break up the fighting.
I tried silver dollars before, but they got too beat up so I had to move them.
I’m surprised the Oscar doesn’t do more to break up the fighting.
Great to hear. That makes sense, I have a similar problem with my Dempsey hating the con due to similar markings, not as bad with fighting though.
Nicaraguenese (I probably butchered that) grow a lot faster than gts, so once you do get a bigger tank and the macaw outgrows the terror, the gt will probably back down even more.
Your nicaraguense is a female. Without seeing your green terror, it's either 2 females fighting for places to spawn or the female nicaraguense telling a male to back off, since she doesn't like him.
maybe ill try it out i was gonna get some giant danios j bc theyre so damn cheap at petco. my oscar was the first fish in the tank and is extremely dominant and like on another page than the rest of the fish. hes more concerned with fighting me than the fish lol. he charges at fish occasionally but its obvious he does it just to assert dominance because he doesnt even come near the fish. he is currently trying to kill an 8-9” pleco so thats cool they seem to have the most problems which i kinda ignore bc its an armored catfish. maybe ill try red belly piranhas instead of silver dollars?
yeah i was told the nicaraguense was a female bc she was beating on all the others which is why i thought she could hold up in my tank. im pretty sure its bc the green terror had claimed the whole tank as his territory since he always goes untouched by other fish. itd be interesting if it was a female gt but it colored up a ton as soon as i got it and is the much more vibrant than the rest of the gts at the store still but i j kinda assumed it was a male due to that and i dont have the time or really the equipment to set up a tote before i leave town i think the territories got worked out. im kind of surprised because of how relentless the green terror was being before.
