New Salvini Cichlids

[RTCfan86]

Ok, I’ve made up my mind to go with Salvini as my next breeding project in my 75 gallon. I removed the Kribensis who have been successfully spawning for a while and picked up a male and female Salvini this weekend…





I’m sure as the Salvini get bigger, I’ll need to remove some of these plants. Right now, they’re about 2” - 2.5” now.

I’m curious…do you guys think I’m ok with just one male and one female and let things play out? Or would you add additional of either gender while they’re small to increase the chances of two of them eventually pairing up?

 

[RTCfan86]

The female, bring a little larger, is the boss. She’ll chase the male away a lot while they’re eating, but it doesn’t stop him from still chowing. Will the roles reverse as the male gets more mature? Is this an early sign that they would be less likely to pair up later?

 

[Hybridfish7]

The female, bring a little larger, is the boss. She’ll chase the male away a lot while they’re eating, but it doesn’t stop him from still chowing. Will the roles reverse as the male gets more mature? Is this an early sign that they would be less likely to pair up later?

I've had males of other species only pair up with females once they surpassed them in size, so it shouldn't be a problem in that regard, but I don't know how they'll be with eachother, them being salvini and salvini doing salvini things

 

[RTCfan86]

I've had males of other species only pair up with females once they surpassed them in size, so it shouldn't be a problem in that regard, but I don't know how they'll be with eachother, them being salvini and salvini doing salvini things

Haha, thanks. She seems to be keeping him in a corner most of the time, so we’ll see how things develops as he gets bigger…assuming she lets him!

 

[Man-made Monsters]

The beautiful and horrifically aggressive Salvini. If she is keeping him in a corner of the tank then it’s probably not going well for the male. Now, over a month after your first post, hopefully the male is still alive. Salvini are usually one of two ways in my experience. Either they stick to their caves/areas and only get aggressive when another fish approaches their space, or they are tank bosses that swim around terrorizing any fish they come across. They are NOT the most aggressive cichlid I have ever kept but they can be rough.
My final though I wish to share with you is this: If the male is killed by the female try to source a larger male from a different store, or local breeder. I recommend this to create less inbred offspring. In my experience it leads to far less genetic malformations, healthier offspring, and over all great looking fish.

 

[RTCfan86]

The beautiful and horrifically aggressive Salvini. If she is keeping him in a corner of the tank then it’s probably not going well for the male. Now, over a month after your first post, hopefully the male is still alive. Salvini are usually one of two ways in my experience. Either they stick to their caves/areas and only get aggressive when another fish approaches their space, or they are tank bosses that swim around terrorizing any fish they come across. They are NOT the most aggressive cichlid I have ever kept but they can be rough.
My final though I wish to share with you is this: If the male is killed by the female try to source a larger male from a different store, or local breeder. I recommend this to create less inbred offspring. In my experience it leads to far less genetic malformations, healthier offspring, and over all great looking fish.

Thank you very much for the advice. The male is still alive, and I have relocated him to another tank. She hasn’t really let up on him and he has to hide most of the time. I’m trying to find a larger male now but Salvini aren’t super common by me. Plus trying to find a male at 4” will be an even bigger challenge. So far I’ve found a place that have 4 approx 2” Salvini, but no one else has any in stock. Fingers crossed I get lucky soon. I really don’t want to get rid of the female just to get a smaller pair. She has to be at least 3.5” now.