So I started a growout and my fish are finally setting a pecking order, well my firemouth is getting picked on more than id like, he has hiding places but even when i feed them he gets only a small amount of the food everytime so I've had to increase my number of feedings. I notice some keepers of african cichlids put in a lot of fish so no one fish is singly picked on. So my question is if I were to just get some feeders or mollies to throw in with these guys to keep my cichlids from getting picked on individually do you think this would help? let me know your thoughts. It's a growout in a 30 with a jack dempsey, gt, and firemouth right now and theyre all about 2 inches if it makes a difference.
Overstocking to prevent fish from being picked on?
- Thread starter fhawk362
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I don't think smaller fish like mollies would survive very long. While they would spread the aggression out they wouldn't be able to handle receiving it for very long.
Good point, my friend used to use dehooked fishing lures and would put them in the filter flow, worked temporarily but I dont think it helped in the long run. Maybe a mirror like with bettas? or any other suggestions
cover......
I housed 7 medium sized cichlids in a 90 temporarily by loading up the tank with tons of wood and fake plants. Sight breaks go along way.
Other than that......a bigger tank
I housed 7 medium sized cichlids in a 90 temporarily by loading up the tank with tons of wood and fake plants. Sight breaks go along way.
Other than that......a bigger tank
The idea works well with certain africans but not always with centrals. Africans like mbuna live in crowded conditions naturally in the wild which is why it works so well. They like to be in a large group. Most centrals do not live in the same conditions. By adding other fish you give the dominant fish more to chase but it will not solve the underlying problem. I guess you could add like 10 more green terror babies and that might work but then what are you going to do with all those fish. The tank maybe too small to simply put it.
If you have a small group of New World cichlids, one is always going to be at the bottom of the pecking order.
I agree with adding more cover. I watched the aggression with my cichlids diminish exponentially when I had a dense mat of floating hornwort.
And definitely NOT a mirror. It's nice to get your fish to display and show their colors, but they will go crazy trying to fight it 24/7. When a cichlid sees a fish of the same species and same size, they simply HAVE to figure out who's more dominant.
I agree with adding more cover. I watched the aggression with my cichlids diminish exponentially when I had a dense mat of floating hornwort.
And definitely NOT a mirror. It's nice to get your fish to display and show their colors, but they will go crazy trying to fight it 24/7. When a cichlid sees a fish of the same species and same size, they simply HAVE to figure out who's more dominant.
if this is a growout tank,is the their permanent tank ready now? they will grow to be 4-5 inches in possibly 3 months or so.the aggression will probably increase as they get closer to adult size.you could try SD,but tank size is limiting your options