mbuna bully
- Thread starter Bobtastic6
- Start date
i'm planing on growing out the fish i have in this tank and eventually moving to a 75 gal. any other AC's that may be a good fit? should i try to have the new fish be larger? i'm afraid that if they are smaller they won't have as good a chance of thriving becuase they'll just get beat up until they grow to an equal size? thoughts? help?
In my experience adding smaller mbuna is safer than adding fish that are the same size or larger. When I've added ones that were the same size or larger I had a lot more fighting. The smaller fish added were pretty much ignored. Perhaps they don't see them as a threat? As long as the new fish are not bite size and you add enough of them at once I think you will be fine.
i can only really laught now because of all the variables i'm coming up with and making it a huge deal out of this haha. if i add more of the same species i have and they're smaller (haven't been vented) i may end up with a whole new problem in a few months of males fighting for mates. any thoughts on other AC i could add?
I too think adding a few more fish would help. I would likely add 2 Labs and 2 Acei prefferably the same size as the ones you have. This will help one fish from getting singled out. I've never kept Acei but Labs tend to be pretty docile and don't seem to fight among themselves. My Obiquiden Zebras males are all pretty aggresive but mostly toward each other.
I have 2 Acei, 2 Red Zebras, 3 Yellow Labs, 1 Auratus, and 1 C. Pleco.
One of the Zebras rules the tank. He is about 5" and terrorizes the Aceis when they get near his space. The Aceis are about 3.5 - 4" and have this love hate relationship with the Zebra.
I really think it just depends on the fish. Try moving decor around so they don't have a space dedicated to themselves. Let them try to establish a new territory and as soon as they do move the decor again.
I currently have a 55 Gal, but the multiple fish do help. I think I'm understocked, but some will disagree. Try rescaping and if that doesn't help try getting an agressive Acei. When I bought my fish I sat and watched the tanks and picked out the most aggressive of the bunch.
Here is the ruler of my tank!
One of the Zebras rules the tank. He is about 5" and terrorizes the Aceis when they get near his space. The Aceis are about 3.5 - 4" and have this love hate relationship with the Zebra.
I really think it just depends on the fish. Try moving decor around so they don't have a space dedicated to themselves. Let them try to establish a new territory and as soon as they do move the decor again.
I currently have a 55 Gal, but the multiple fish do help. I think I'm understocked, but some will disagree. Try rescaping and if that doesn't help try getting an agressive Acei. When I bought my fish I sat and watched the tanks and picked out the most aggressive of the bunch.
Here is the ruler of my tank!
UPDATE:
one month now since i have added fish to my current tank. i have added another kenyi and an aratus, both of which are small than the 3 dominant fish of the tank. in the past few days though the aggression has gotten serious. the kenyi and the yellow lab have beaten up the red zebra and it appears he is no longer the dominant fish. all parites seem wounded 1) any suggestions on treatment for fish to keep healthy in this stressful event? 2) removal of the red zebra for recovery? 3) was adding fish a bad idea?
one month now since i have added fish to my current tank. i have added another kenyi and an aratus, both of which are small than the 3 dominant fish of the tank. in the past few days though the aggression has gotten serious. the kenyi and the yellow lab have beaten up the red zebra and it appears he is no longer the dominant fish. all parites seem wounded 1) any suggestions on treatment for fish to keep healthy in this stressful event? 2) removal of the red zebra for recovery? 3) was adding fish a bad idea?
Move all the decor around and keep an eye on it... You may lose one or two from time to time with mbuna and aggression
frequent water changes and salting to keep healthy and speed up healing. definitely move the decor often,Im not a fan of overstocking (even tho I could add a few more to my tank) but One small trick that helped me in the past was to add plastic plants that are made for lizard tanks, they have suction cups so I put them near the top scattered around, I feel it breaks the "line of sight" giving the victim a break every now and then and adding to the hiding places. I find this helps alot in my tanks, plus I move the rocks around every 3-4 weeks also.
heres a video of my 125 gal african tank, theres a few shots in there where you can see the plants. I only have about 65lbs of rock but plan to add more for even more hiding places.
heres a video of my 125 gal african tank, theres a few shots in there where you can see the plants. I only have about 65lbs of rock but plan to add more for even more hiding places.
