Mota mania

[JoeBoxer]

Hi everyone

I just dropped by my LFS to get some supplies and voila, they have a tank full little motas. After not ever seeing these fish for the past 10+ years I picked mine up a month ago (he was solo in the tank, a trade in) and now they have more!

I couldn't resist, I bought 2 more in the hopes of one being a female and getting along with my male.

I am 90% sure one of them is a female. More streamlined body, no spots on the fins on the bottom (dont know their proper name), and lots of solid (at least looks that way) red on the face. They're even smaller than the male I have now, so time will tell. Also, both of them have a lot of gold in the body, they look really nice.

I also bought 3 tinfoil barbs in an attempt to spread the aggression. The new motas are smaller than the male I have, and he is already chasing them around. I built 2 more caves in the tank but theyre still hanging out near the top.

Hoping they settle a bit overnight. Fingers crossed. I'll try and get pics of them.

I actually prefer female to male motas, so if I have to keep one only, it's going to be a tough choice.

 

[JoeBoxer]

Already had to go back to the LFS and get a divider. The male is RELENTLESS attacking both of the new fish. He is actually ignoring the barbs and focusing on the RTMs. Pretty sure both new fish are females. See pics below.

Right now I'm watching him swim up and down the divider to try and find a way to get through.

The females are actually meeting him at the divider. Short memory I guess....

Very interesting to watch but I know it may be death for the females if I remove the divider.

They are way less shy than he is though, and he still dives for cover when he sees me, even with the females in the tank.

 

[Frank Castle]

Hi everyone

I just dropped by my LFS to get some supplies and voila, they have a tank full little motas. After not ever seeing these fish for the past 10+ years I picked mine up a month ago (he was solo in the tank, a trade in) and now they have more!

I couldn't resist, I bought 2 more in the hopes of one being a female and getting along with my male.

I am 90% sure one of them is a female. More streamlined body, no spots on the fins on the bottom (dont know their proper name), and lots of solid (at least looks that way) red on the face. They're even smaller than the male I have now, so time will tell. Also, both of them have a lot of gold in the body, they look really nice.

I also bought 3 tinfoil barbs in an attempt to spread the aggression. The new motas are smaller than the male I have, and he is already chasing them around. I built 2 more caves in the tank but theyre still hanging out near the top.

Hoping they settle a bit overnight. Fingers crossed. I'll try and get pics of them.

I actually prefer female to male motas, so if I have to keep one only, it's going to be a tough choice.

Already had to go back to the LFS and get a divider. The male is RELENTLESS attacking both of the new fish. He is actually ignoring the barbs and focusing on the RTMs. Pretty sure both new fish are females. See pics below.

Right now I'm watching him swim up and down the divider to try and find a way to get through.

The females are actually meeting him at the divider. Short memory I guess....

Very interesting to watch but I know it may be death for the females if I remove the divider.

They are way less shy than he is though, and he still dives for cover when he sees me, even with the females in the tank.

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lol get used to it, mine had to be separated too.....male or female, it doesn't seem to matter......they just have one thing on their mind 24/7.....


"KILL KILL KILLL KILLLLLLLLLLLLLLL"

and that's it....that's all they think or do

 

[JoeBoxer]

Ugh. One of the tinfoil barbs got through the divider to the males side somehow overnight. He's dead now, absolutely shredded and has no eyes....

Two females and remaining two tinfoil barbs are okay on the other side of the divider.

I think i need to choose between the two....

 

[MP_cichlid]

u don't need to choose, give it time. If this male is such a beast, he will be a great pop. just be patient with it and let them all mature. They are young, breeding isn't a priority for them atm. If anything, tbh, I would get some more motas. Make a group. Give your male lots of options. The barbs are better for dithers when you already have an established pair, this way its more for distracting him from the one female, rather than distracting him from gaining territory. If there are more motas in the tank, it will be much harder for your lil' beast to be crazy when he is in their with a lot more fish. With what you have described, I would pack your tank with other cichlids. maybe keep the motas u have and get some cons or midas or anything tough like that. But you can't add a little at a time or else history will repeat itself. If he can't just focus on one or two or maybe even three fish, it will be much more of a challenge for him to harass.

 

[Stampion]

What makes you so certain you have a male and two females?I started with 6 and when they were that small I was wrong guessing what sex they were.Turned out the most belligerent one was a female

 

[JoeBoxer]

u don't need to choose, give it time. If this male is such a beast, he will be a great pop. just be patient with it and let them all mature. They are young, breeding isn't a priority for them atm. If anything, tbh, I would get some more motas. Make a group. Give your male lots of options. The barbs are better for dithers when you already have an established pair, this way its more for distracting him from the one female, rather than distracting him from gaining territory. If there are more motas in the tank, it will be much harder for your lil' beast to be crazy when he is in their with a lot more fish. With what you have described, I would pack your tank with other cichlids. maybe keep the motas u have and get some cons or midas or anything tough like that. But you can't add a little at a time or else history will repeat itself. If he can't just focus on one or two or maybe even three fish, it will be much more of a challenge for him to harass.

Interesting. I just feel bad if I buy a couple more (not cheap either) and he ends up just killing them all or making their lives hell. I sat away from the tank and watched and he was just relentless with both females. Literally didn't stop chasing them. I suppose I could try buying some more cheaper cichlids and seeing if that helps.

I won't have the opportunity to upgrade tank size for probably a year so that may be an issue but I think that should be okay.

What makes you so certain you have a male and two females?I started with 6 and when they were that small I was wrong guessing what sex they were.Turned out the most belligerent one was a female

The colours, body shape, spots on the fins all point to male. Other members have confirmed this in my original post.

 

[Frank Castle]

Interesting. I just feel bad if I buy a couple more (not cheap either) and he ends up just killing them all or making their lives hell. I sat away from the tank and watched and he was just relentless with both females. Literally didn't stop chasing them. I suppose I could try buying some more cheaper cichlids and seeing if that helps.

I won't have the opportunity to upgrade tank size for probably a year so that may be an issue but I think that should be okay.



The colours, body shape, spots on the fins all point to male. Other members have confirmed this in my original post.

Get some Convicts or Jewels as "Dithers"

 

[NW Cichlid Keith]

How big of a tank do you need to manage mota aggression? Is it a territorial thing, or do they just kill everything they can and a female needs to be the smallest fish in the tank? Could you put one in say a 300 w/ smaller fish, or would they be toast as well?

 

[ehh]

Don't add punching bag fish. You see how aggressive he is. Anything you add is a punching bag fish.
Something to consider here is that "dithers" are naturally food for these fish. Parachromis are pretty predatory.
And other cichlids are terrority risks. Adding either will likely end in dead fish.
Or just add a million other cichlids and treat the tank like an African tank. *scarcasm*

Keep them separated and be patient. The male might bond with one of females through the divider. I also like the idea of adding more females. Pairing aggressive cichlids is always tricky.

How big is the tank these guys are in?