Rainbow cichlids

[Teejg]

I haven't been on here for almost 10 years and I've just gotten back into cichlids. This time I have 8 rainbow cichlids in a 40 breeder. They are all 1.5-3 inches. I just got them from two different sources with the week. I have a fluval 207 .

The problem I'm having is their attacking each other so bad that all their tails are ripped up. I thought these were peaceful fish. I have nothing else but them in there. I have plenty of hiding spots with pvc, driftwood...

Will this just end badly and I need to buy a whole nother tank to try and make the male/female ratio better? I just assumed they wouldn't pair off in 2 days and cause chaos. I have a convict tank that is way overstocked and it's fine.

 

[bkfamus]

I had a young pair work and spawn in a 40. until the male tried to kill the female after the 3rd spawn.. had more success with them in bigger tanks (75G, 125G) with bigger tankmates.. Very mild mannered compared to other CA cichlids.. But I'd use a 75G minimum for 6+ w/ some dithers (mollies, or swordtails or thighbodied tetra) or a another small target cichlid (firemouth maybe) for distractions..

I'd only go with dwarf SA cichlids like apistos, rams, smaller laetacara, dicrosus, keyholes etc. in a 40B.. But that's based on my limited experience..

 

[jjohnwm]

I had Rainbows breeding like mice for me for several years, long ago, but that was a single pair that had already paired up in a larger tank and which I then moved into a 54-gallon tank, which I believe is the same footprint as the 40B, i.e. 36 x 18 inches? No other fish in the tank, aside from usually large numbers of their fry, and no aggression problems. I also had a dozen or so at any given time in a 360-gallon tank populated mostly by larger cichlids and catfish, and they were too busy trying to avoid being eaten to fight with each other.

Yours are definitely big enough to start breeding, and so maybe there are multiple pairs formed or forming, resulting in too much aggression in that small space. If I had placed a half-dozen or more fry into that size of tank, I would expect to need to remove all but two after a natural pair had formed; maybe if lucky two pairs could co-exist and breed in there, but I think it's unlikely and would likely be a stressful tank, for you and for the fish.

 

[Teejg]

I guess I'm lucky the 3 inch ones haven't just killed the smaller ones. They are beautiful though

 

[jjohnwm]

That tank seems pretty sparsely equipped with caves and hides; you might have better luck with either providing a large number of excess hiding spots so that each fish can claim its own, or with providing none at all so that there's nothing to fight over...but I still think that there will be breeding-related disputes going on.

 

[Teejg]

Well, they do a lot of ramming but I don't see any lip lock

That tank seems pretty sparsely equipped with caves and hides; you might have better luck with either providing a large number of excess hiding spots so that each fish can claim its own, or with providing none at all so that there's nothing to fight over...but I still think that there will be breeding-related disputes going on.

 

[duanes]

I was given about a dozen 1/2" multispinossa fry a while back, and grew them out on a 60 gal high tank.

In nature at maturity when pairs form, they fan out onto the flooded grasslands of Costa Rica, where each pair will carve out a territory of about 4 sq ft.
So as mine started showing mature colors, I put them all in a 400 gal kiddie pool to simulate what might occur in nature.
6 pairs formed, they split the pool into territories, and started spawning.

Even in that size pool, with the foot print of a small bedroom, the pairs would raid each others nests, and eat each others eggs and fry.
Looking back, I believe that pool would "maybe" have enough space for 2 pairs.
A 40 gal tank, no more than 1 pair.

 

[jjohnwm]

There's your problem; too much caffeine...

edited to add: referring to the pic with the coffee cups, not to duanes ' post.

 

[Teejg]

I was given about a dozen 1/2" multispinossa fry a while back, and grew them out on a 60 gal high tank.
View attachment 1517897
In nature at maturity when pairs form, they fan out onto the flooded grasslands of Costa Rica, where each pair will carve out a territory of about 4 sq ft.
So as mine started showing mature colors, I put them all in a 400 gal kiddie pool to simulate what might occur in nature.
6 pairs formed, they split the pool into territories, and started spawning.
View attachment 1517898View attachment 1517899View attachment 1517901
Even in that size pool, with the foot print of a small bedroom, the pairs would raid each others nests, and eat each others eggs and fry.
Looking back, I believe that pool would "maybe" have enough space for 2 pairs.
A 40 gal tank, no more than 1 pair.

Sorry, I replied in the wrong spot. No way does one pair that only grows 4 inches a piece need 4 feet. That's an astronomical amount of tank space needed for a relatively peaceful fish.

 

[Teejg]

Sorry, I replied in the wrong spot. No way does one pair that only grows 4 inches a piece need 4 feet. That's an astronomical amount of tank space needed for a relatively peaceful fish.

So I need a 12 ft tank for 4 couples?