Salvini tank setup

[Ogertron3000]

I'm suprised they killed the platies but it looks like they are fighting each other too.the spots on the noses look like battle scars and they are all a darker colour than normal which usually means they are stressed. Like I've said these things are vicious
, I think you need to get rid of some or try adding more until a pair forms but there will most likely be casualties along the way.

 

[FESHMAN]

Unlike any other cichlids I've kept. Salvini's are the only one to kill without negotiating. They aim straight to the belly and finish quick.

 

[Galactik]

Unlike any other cichlids I've kept. Salvini's are the only one to kill without negotiating. They aim straight to the belly and finish quick.

Yeah these little guys are brutal, I'm still surprised lol

What you're saying sounds right on the money, every attack so far seems to have been very methodical. They target a single fish and finished it quick.


Anyhow. I shuffled some fish yesterday to accommodate them and moved them in to my 125 gallon with a bunch of driftwood and rocks. I was a little nervous as everything in that tank is much bigger but seems to be working out great.

I only removed the oscar and the bichir for now while they grow a little more and then I'll move them around in a couple months. Luckily my O is still very small so this should work out for now.

I'll continue to observe, hopefully the added space and bigger tankmates will help with the aggression, if not I might have to come up with a different plan.

 

[Galactik]

On a more positive note. I was able to measure them while transferring and looks like they grew 1" since getting them a month ago, so now they are at 2" and maybe 2.5" for the bigger one!

 

[jjohnwm]

I've always had more luck using fast swimmers like danios, barbs or rosy reds as dithers. Platies aren't really all that quick and are a much easier target.

My only experience with salvini was in a cichlid community tank where they essentially were the dithers; they were the smallest fish by far in the community with oscars, red devils, black belts, buttikofferi, etc. and still managed to boss other fish around. They were lucky they were so beautiful...

 

[HybridFinatic]

I've always had more luck using fast swimmers like danios, barbs or rosy reds as dithers. Platies aren't really all that quick and are a much easier target.

My only experience with salvini was in a cichlid community tank where they essentially were the dithers; they were the smallest fish by far in the community with oscars, red devils, black belts, buttikofferi, etc. and still managed to boss other fish around. They were lucky they were so beautiful...

+1 giant danios. I don’t think think the Salvinis will be able to catch them. Even then they are very cheap. Get a decent school of 10-20 and it may take away some aggression. Though they do tend to stay towards the mid-top level of the the tank.