melanochromis johanni (ele. blue)

[froggyfiend]

Hey all! I have a melanochromis johanni that keeps spitting rocks all over the tank. For the most part, he chills out inside of a boat. However, he has taken damn near every rock out of the boat and made a huge pile in front of it. What can I do to make it stop, and why could he be doing this? Wish I could attach photos, but camera is down right now.

 

[davo]

well in the wild they make these crater things, where they decided he is going to make his home, and this is like his arena to attract mates, and they tidy it by removing odd pieces of gravel and shells etc to impress females. maybe its a male looking for some company

 

[Scotty]

That is the male behaviour to try and attract females. I have a greshakei who does this on a regular basis. When he first started I put the gravel back and he would remove it again. After about the thiord time he started to tack the gravel to the otherside of the tank. I have a piece of Vallisneria fairly near to his spot and he regularly pulls it out. I wonder who will give in first?

 

[Joea]

Mbuna dig. It's what they do.

 

[somthinsfishy]

It's a ongoing uphill battle. You can't win. Unless you call the Fish Wisperer!

 

[froggyfiend]

who may the fish whisperer be, somethinfishy? Can ya point him/her my direction?

 

[gomezladdams]

Stop a cichlid from digging?
You might as well ask how to adapt him to live without water

 

[Ash]

yah hate to brake it to yah, but its not going to stop and unless your fish listens to what you tell it to do, I'd suggest getting used to it. Its pretty much what everyone else has told you, its normal, he making his home and looking for a ladie =) Mine used to do this all the time but with sand and it drove me nuts cuse the sand would get clogged in the filter everytime he moved it lol. Needless to say I dont have sand anymore. Anyways its normal so rather than trying to get it to stop - let it be get it a female and maybe you can be a grandpa =)

 

[cichlid savage]

As previousely stated its typical cichlid behavior. They dig establish territories and search for a mate. The only way to stop it is to remove the gravel.

 

[jkruger83]

Yes this behavior is typical of most cichlids. Its pretty funny too. They make stuff the way they want it, not you! hehe. One time my male bumblebee (about 6") was living in this cave thing, he pretty much shoveled all of the rocks out from inside of it and it fell over! Its kinda funny to watch. Totally normal though.