Many different large cichlids in one tank... how do i keep some from attacking others

[cichlidian1]

yeah my comm tank with the six JDS, 2x oscars, convict pair, mayan they showed no aggression until I started aquascaping so as it sits now theres just slate rock lying flat on the bottom and one bigass piece of wood floating and they're fairly peaceful

and I know lots of people keep Frontosa with CAs/SAs but I just wouldn't doesn't seem right, to each his own

 

[calicichlid]

Sometimes structure in a tank only ADDS to aggression. In an empty tank there are no disputes over territory, just dominance. Dominance can get sorted out, but territories always squeeze someone out.

I just read an article the other day stating the same thing. I like the fact of decor/aquascaping in a tank it gives it a great look, but I also believe if your going to have major CA/SA who fight over territories take away the territories and reduce the fight. I have experienced it for myself and it works out majority of the time works, every now and then I run into a couple of special case. And that only goes back to what alot of members here believe it the temperment of the individual fish.
IMO: some decor is good, just enough for small cichlid to gain cover from larger ones, besides the fish are there to be admired.
I believe its more about balance. What I mean is there are a lot of setups here on MFK that you will never see in the wild, they are man made setting/setups (not a bad thing if it works). Majority of the cichlids are territorial (jaguar,dovii,trimacs,festae,red devils,etc.) all put in one large (hopefully) tank with the expectation of 90-100% compatability. But in most of those cases theres nothing to even out the aggression (silver dollars and other type of dithers,etc.).
I try to make my setup with variety aggression levels, possibly having 1-alpha dominant(black belt, triman,jaguar,yellowheads), 1-2 bravo dominants (ie:carpintis,grammodes,loisellie, pearsi) and everything else (firemouths,convicts, etc) fall into its pecking order.
I am not saying that this is the only way its going to work, but it s what works for me. And after going thru a few hundred dollars worth of fish its starting to pay-off.

 

[Sarah88]

yeah def agree with needing pics sounds like awesome set-up, and also i bet if you get rid of those flowerhorns then all your other fish will get along just fine, FH generally cant be kept with other fish, it is very rare to find one that can coexist with other cichlids, as far as aquascaping like others have said make sure there are plenty of little caves everywhere for them to go in and out of, you can get large pieces of driftwood they always look good and get nice big pieces of rock from your local hardware/gardening or rock/tile supply store and then just play around with it until you get it how you like it, im sure im not the only one but i know with my tanks i cant even remember the amount of times iv moved deco around until its now finally sort of how i want it, and with that big of a tank you could def add a nice big school of silver dollars or something for them to spread around the aggression and you could even add a couple more cichlids especially if you get rid of those FHs a argentea or carpintis escondido would look sweet with that mix

 

[livebearerfreak]

for one your biggest is almost 4 inches so the gt and bb are not close to adults and those are pretty laiid back fish compared to adult size flowerhorns and that 75 will be jammed packed when there all full size. hope thats a grow out tank

nope not grow out but in the end ( when half full grown ) i plan on to have a breeeding pair of FM 1 female pink con 1 female black con and either a gt or a bb. not both just one but leaning towards the gt.

 

[fishguts]

nope not grow out but in the end ( when half full grown ) i plan on to have a breeeding pair of FM 1 female pink con 1 female black con and either a gt or a bb. not both just one but leaning towards the gt.

thats cool. go with the gt. i think there cooler then bb

 

[livebearerfreak]

ya im really liking the chariter of this guy to

 

[Adhlc]

Sometimes structure in a tank only ADDS to aggression. In an empty tank there are no disputes over territory, just dominance. Dominance can get sorted out, but territories always squeeze someone out.

This is exactly what I was thinking. If you're going to pack the tank with fish like that - I'd remove all decorations so there will be nowhere for any of the fish to form territories around.

I'm not going to lecture on the use of feeders, but you should really look at some of the potential health risks involved in feeding them those things. Try getting them on a good staple diet of pellets, krill, and/or algae wafers instead.

As for the Frontosa, I've seen it done - and the dietary needs are very similar to those of the other fish you have. However they really should be kept in shoals, and in fairly alkaline water.

I'd love to see pictures if you've got them.

 

[Motoxs3th]

kk. they all just chill near the bottom so i removed all the decor and sold both flowerhorns now my tanks good. can anyone find me a gar in washington now?

 

[greenterra]

I agree with cchhcc, to much aquascaping usually causes aggression. If you must have decor,try to have it setup in a way that doesn't allow any cover. The more fish defending territories, the more aggression you will see. Also, when involving large sa/ca cichlids in a community tank I suggest no females at all. Breeding only induces aggression as well. Reducing temps as JR said can often help. Sometimes in the end though, it is trial and error with the fish themselves. Some just don't play nice.

 

[Sarah88]

kk. they all just chill near the bottom so i removed all the decor and sold both flowerhorns now my tanks good. can anyone find me a gar in washington now?

good yeah everyone should get along now, and you could even try having some decor in there now that the FHs are gone, it may reduce aggression but IMO a bare tank just isnt as appealing to me as one with nice natural decorations and i think its fun seeing the fish be able to claim territories and interact with each other naturally you just have to watch them to make sure it doesnt get out of hand, but i think with the FHs out you shouldnt have a problem