I have a issue and problem with my newly acquired Pbass 2x orinoco and 2x ocellaris. My main tank is 400 gallons currently has 9 Pbass in it 3x Mono, 2x Kelbri, 3x Blue azul, 1 Temensis sizes are between 8 inches to 11 inchs. My 2nd tank is a 150 gallon that I setup as a grow out until I figure out what I want to with it later on, and a spare 30 gallon. Anyways found a really cool fish store in my city, they literally have every peacock bass species you could think off. I purchased 2 WC Orinoco 4-5 inches and 2 WC Ocellaris 3-4 inches. Got them home and into the 150 for the past 5 days the Orinco's have been chasing and beating the snot out of the Ocellaris's to the point they would eventually die. I didn't do it sooner because its normal to see Pbass so show and act mild aggression to one another but nothing to serious, but the Orinco's aggression towards the Ocellaris's progressed worse day by day. I got the 2 Ocellaris in the 30 gallon by themselves, they are doing much better and recovering. The orinoco's seem to he very happy together in the 150. My question is are Orinoco pbass really this aggressive?? When the time comes will they be able to coexist when the time comes in the 400g with the others?
New Orinoco and ocellaris problem
- Thread starter Mustangmike87
- Start date
Orinocensis can certainly be mean so it’s not unheard of. Personally, mine have always been a bit smaller than their mates and able to coexist peacefully as a result. Many consider it to be the more aggressive species of Cichla.
I have 2 of these Orinoco (6”) as well, initially had them with two larger “farmies” the bigger one beat on the smaller one so put the smaller one in with smaller bass and left the larger one... now the bully is the opressor...
long story short, same issue... they are working in my set ups as long as they are not the largest fish in the tank...
I’ve got torn fins, adding salt keeping water clean...
it’s also unfortunate because the dominate colors are way better!
I’ll be adding them to my 625 soon... mine are in 150/120 currently I’m also curious how it will play out in the big tank...
ill follow along here
luck!
long story short, same issue... they are working in my set ups as long as they are not the largest fish in the tank...
I’ve got torn fins, adding salt keeping water clean...
it’s also unfortunate because the dominate colors are way better!
I’ll be adding them to my 625 soon... mine are in 150/120 currently I’m also curious how it will play out in the big tank...
ill follow along here
luck!
I have 4 Orino 9” and they seen to fight/harass other fish their size or smaller. The only thing that seems to work well with them is a wolf fish I have that is the same and he is really nasty. These are my favorite peacock bass 
I have a 550g bass tank and until recently it held 3 orino bass of different locales. I can undoubtedly confirm that, no matter the area or captive bred vs wild caught, Orinos can truly be nasty. Other than Orinos I consider bass pretty docile on the aggression scale but orinos will nip and chase tank mates relentlessly, especially if they’re near the same size. The only way I ever avoided damage to my other bass was if I kept orinos 1/2-2/3 the size of everyone else.
One thing I want to mention, though, is that every time I add a new bass to my tank there tends to be a “hierarchy reorganization”. All my bass will challenge the new comers to see where they stand and, eventually, everyone tends to fall in line with generally little to no collateral damage dealt to anyone. This usually continues for about 1-2 weeks before everyone settles down. When adding more than two it usually takes a bit longer with more aggression showing. This could very well be playing a part in what you’re seeing so it may be worth watching it play out if there isn’t too much damage being caused
One thing I want to mention, though, is that every time I add a new bass to my tank there tends to be a “hierarchy reorganization”. All my bass will challenge the new comers to see where they stand and, eventually, everyone tends to fall in line with generally little to no collateral damage dealt to anyone. This usually continues for about 1-2 weeks before everyone settles down. When adding more than two it usually takes a bit longer with more aggression showing. This could very well be playing a part in what you’re seeing so it may be worth watching it play out if there isn’t too much damage being caused
very helpful info!
my large farmie had checked the Orino in their old tank, however I moved the 7 more similar sized , 3 farmie, 2 kels, 2 Orino to my 625... one of the orino’s has them living in a corner while he/she patrols the rest of the tank...
It’s only been 1 week I think, still have the largest farmie segregated in a 150 solo so the group can catch up in size...
Gonna see how it plays out...
May add the large farmie...
