Lip's Are Turning White
- Thread starter DawnMichele
- Start date
This time of year alot of cichlids are getting into their reproductive behaviors and you will see more fighting between males but lip locking can actually result from males and females courting but more time than not its males fighting other males.
DawnMichele
DawnMichele
it looked like she has 1 of each specie, but I guess that's not very relevant to African M'buna since they will mate with anything they can. IMO, there' are quite a few aggressive species in there - good chance it's territorial but could go either way.....could also just be M'buna being M'buna.This time of year alot of cichlids are getting into their reproductive behaviors and you will see more fighting between males but lip locking can actually result from males and females courting but more time than not its males fighting other males.
not sure I would trade all the Africans for a JD....plenty of room for a JD or so in w/ the Oscar. A single JD in a tank isn't a lot of entertainment tbh.....they seem to be more active in tanks heavily seeded w/ caves and hide-spots and other similar cichlids. You can pick up a JD for $3-$6 ....I could easily sell those Africans for $100 or more, depending on the buyer
http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/1goldfishgirl1/media/DSC00380_zpsfdkd3hpa.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
could very well be just that.....if you look at the pic closely, the white does seem to form the shape of a horseshoe-like shape, consistent with a mouthprint. My only thoughts would be why aren't there at least TWO fish w/ the same markings? One would think it takes 2 to tango.....Suppose he/she might be getting these marks by trying to reach algae in a place it's entire head can not fit into and the surface is causing abrasions while it's wedging it's face into the cracks and crevices. Do you think with that many fish grazing that tank would be able to produce much algae before it's quickly eaten? I have seen 1 small CAE clear a whole tank of heavy algae in just a few days, so my vote would be "no".
Thoughts?
I would lean toward damage from lip locking just because I've seen the same thing in both my African and S&CA cichlids before but damage from grazing would be a new one for me but anything is possible.
Frank Castle
Frank Castle
Thanks everyone for all your help. I think IM going to turn the tank into a peaceful community tank. Too many problem's with Cichlid's.
that's no fun
Cichlids are more work and more challenging but also more rewarding in the end 
In nature lip locking can commonly cause white fungus on lips and jaws.
In cenote Cristalino in Mexico, almost every male JD I found had fungus from jousting with other males.
In cenote Cristalino in Mexico, almost every male JD I found had fungus from jousting with other males.
