Input on my tank?

[Morticia]

Don't worry about him being pinched... fahakas skin is like tanned leather! It's tougher than fish scales... a friend at a lfs conducted an autopsy on a Mbu and had to use a scalpel with a lot of pressure to cut through the skin. As long as they are not bigger than him he will be fine... on YouTube there is a video called 'fahaka get pinched and goes nuts' have a look.

Just thought I'd let you know Majoras eyes are better and the cichlids are still alive and well with him in the tank. However, he still chases them every so often. I'm pretty sure that's how he hurt his eyes. One of the caves was flipped over and I thought it had just fallen. That is until I saw him go after a cichlid who ducked into his cave under a rock. He knocked the cave over and ran into the glass. The fake wood cave has since been relocated. His chasing them is weird though. It's not his normal hunting style chase. Normally when he hunts he observes and strikes. I don't know if he wants to eat them or if he is establishing territory. I guess time will tell.

 

[Morticia]

Don't worry about him being pinched... fahakas skin is like tanned leather! It's tougher than fish scales... a friend at a lfs conducted an autopsy on a Mbu and had to use a scalpel with a lot of pressure to cut through the skin. As long as they are not bigger than him he will be fine... on YouTube there is a video called 'fahaka get pinched and goes nuts' have a look.

Just thought I'd let you know Majoras eyes are better and the cichlids are still alive and well with him in the tank. However, he still chases them every so often. I'm pretty sure that's how he hurt his eyes. One of the caves was flipped over and I thought it had just fallen. That is until I saw him go after a cichlid who ducked into his cave under a rock. He knocked the cave over and ran into the glass. The fake wood cave has since been relocated. His chasing them is weird though. It's not his normal hunting style chase. Normally when he hunts he observes and strikes. I don't know if he wants to eat them or if he is establishing territory. I guess time will tell.

 

[Achilles1763]

Yep that sounds like a likely mechanism of injury to me as well.... fahakas are not territorial, they are not like cichlids and will just bumble are the space they have as they please. I hate to say it but if he is chasing fish, I think he means to catch and eat them. My fahaka is more of a ambush hunter but occasionally I have seen her chase, hunt and murder a particular fish who she thinks has wronged her in some way. The caves will help but long term I would be careful... seeing a fahaka eat a live fish is not for the faint of heart lol

 

[Fat Homer]

If your fahaka is a chaser, becareful of decorations such as rocks being near glass panels etc... last thing you want is a large rock of piece of driftwood hitting a panel the wrong way...

 

[Morticia]

Yep that sounds like a likely mechanism of injury to me as well.... fahakas are not territorial, they are not like cichlids and will just bumble are the space they have as they please. I hate to say it but if he is chasing fish, I think he means to catch and eat them. My fahaka is more of a ambush hunter but occasionally I have seen her chase, hunt and murder a particular fish who she thinks has wronged her in some way. The caves will help but long term I would be careful... seeing a fahaka eat a live fish is not for the faint of heart lol

The chasing has stopped for now. I know it's a day to day thing, but when it was feeding time the cichlids and Majora met me at the glass. He was paying them no mind. The first week if they were in sight he didn't much care if I had food or not. The cichlids are now spending the majority of their time out and about. It started off gradually, but with each day the chasing has subsided more and more and the chiclids are growing more comfortable. One has picked a cave next to Majoras favorite hang out. I don't know if it's that they've all adjusted or if Majora has just grown tired of the fast little buggers. I know it's a day to day thing, but I'm keeping a close eye on it and have back up tanks available should the cichlids need a tank of their own. Also there has been no more moved decor or injuries. I know Fahakas are very smart so either he has decided his normal feeding is just easier than hunting these guys or he is biding his time until he figures out a better plan of attack. If I see the aggression start to pick up I'll relocate the cichlids. So far it's gotten less with each day so I'm still optimistic.

 

[Morticia]

If your fahaka is a chaser, becareful of decorations such as rocks being near glass panels etc... last thing you want is a large rock of piece of driftwood hitting a panel the wrong way...

I had these light weight fake driftwood caves perched ontop of the rocks. That didn't work out too well so I relocated everything. Im not ready to replace a tank just yet lol.