KILLER TROPHEUS DUBOISI

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kamikaziechameleon

kamikaziechameleon

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Sep 23, 2010
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One of my oldest fish is a male Duboisi. I've had him in several community African and predator tanks and in the last 12 months he has become one mean fish. He's over 4 years old coming up on after april. He doesn't engage in fights, or displays with other fish he just swims up and bites them. If you know anything about duboisi mouths they can scrape algae off of glass so its no issue for them to punch a hole in the broad side of a fish that is doing a display of dominance or just in the wrong place. My fish all look like they have sores but they are bites take out of faces, backs, sides, stomachs etc. I watched him last night he is the 3rd smallest fish in the tank. The tank is very large, 300 gallons. 8ft x 2ft x 2.5ft
P1020976.jpg

That pic is from when I was still guiding it through the cycling process with some seasoned filters.

He has claimed 2/3 of that tank as his exclusively. The tank is moderately well stocked with 6 frontosa, 1 severum, 1 jack dempsey, 4 red empress, 1 borlei, 1 z-rock, 1 placidiochromis phenocilus tanzania, 2 rope fish, 2 delhezi, 1 ornate, 1 kirbensis, 1 yellow lab, 3 monos

So the tank is not his final resting spot but I'm months out from getting a new home for him or his tank mates. My question is anyone have any ideas as to how to curb his aggression at all? I know the classic cichlid option is get a bigger meaner fish, I personally enjoy julidochromis they have a great dominant disposition but adults are too expensive and juevies are just bichir bate. I'm reaching out for any ideas that don't involve a new Don(dominant fish) for the tank as I don't have a QT setup ready at the moment.

Caching him out of that tank is just not a possibility. I don't have the patience or time in the near future.
 
yeah he needs his own tank with a large colony of females, or take all rocks and substrate out of the tank so he dosent really have any territory to claim.
 
Sounds like your tank is more than large enough to comfortably put in a divider and isolate him. You could do that for a few months while you figure out a more permanent solution.
 
Dylz said:
yeah he needs his own tank with a large colony of females, or take all rocks and substrate out of the tank so he dosent really have any territory to claim.
Click to expand...

I introduced him into a group of females I had reared a few months back, it was 5. He killed 4 in one night. Then started in on some of the other fish (I pulled him and the female died strangely shortly after). He's been increasingly unpleasant since moving into the house last spring. Prior he was pretty enjoyable and not aggressive at all. Even lived with a tropheus moori for a while with no issues. As the tank sizes increase he becomes more violent and less social.
 
Mount_Prion said:
Sounds like your tank is more than large enough to comfortably put in a divider and isolate him. You could do that for a few months while you figure out a more permanent solution.
Click to expand...

I may just have to do this, I've never dropped a divider in a tank before, I'm not sure how to do it as the flow of the tank is right to left and very heavy... I might have to make a fish box out of egg crate or something but I worry he'll chew the silicone or something to break out like a hampster:irked: He also suddenly took to eating vegetable matter. In all his life he would defer away from eating any plant in his tank or even eating herbivore based foods. Now all of a sudden he thinks he's a gardener and those anubis need some trimming. In one day he pulverized every javafern in the tank. The crypts aren't fairing much better.
 
Use a divider, while you set up a 75G tank for him. Once you have the 75G set buy a bunch (ie: more than 11) more duboisi that are close to his size. Let them get acclimated to the tank. Catch him and move him to the new home in the night. Keep lights out for several days and hope for the best. Tropheus sp fish do best in species only tanks and in large groups (12+) to keep the agression spread out.

If you can't do the above suggestion, then there's always putting him into a small tank by himself. I know you said you can't catch him, but if you don't want him to kill your other fish then you probably should try the old flashlight after lights out trick.

I tried to give some constructive ideas, but I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you to do your homework before you buy a fish in the future.
 
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