Uaru question: Could I add another?

[Angler]

The cichlids I currently have in my 125 are Vieja Argentea, Jag, Red Snook, and a Uaru. Everyone gets along pretty well. There are a few chases and some nipped fins every now and then. Would it cause problems if I added another Uaru? I know they are a pretty calm species, but would it be a problem if there were two male Uarus in the same tank? I don't know sex of mine or of the one I may buy, so obviously there is a possibility of having 2 males.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[darth pike]

There are reports that male uaru have red eyes, female orange. There is some debate to if that holds true or not though. Some breeders swear by it for sexing, others swear at it. Hope it helps.

 

[joey02]

my female uaru has yellow eyes and rounded anal fin that only reach half way donw her tail fin.(know shes female as i have witnesed her lay eggs)
My male has red eyes and his anal fin reaches to the tip of his tail fin and is pointed.(cannot confirm for sure if it is male)

The fish your keeping all reach a size over 10inches so adding another may become a problem. The uaru may be fine with the fish you keep with them, but i think the uaru may be killed later down the road.

Two male uarus will be fine in the same tank, they love their own company. But if you were to have two males and one female or vise versa, then you may have problems when they reach sexual maturity.

 

[Angler]

Well, I went and got another. I got rid of the Snook because he was being nasty towards my Jag and possibly responsible for a badly damaged fin on my Argentea.

So the cichlids I have in there now are Argentea, Jag, and 2 Uaru. There has been a little lip locking between the Uaru. The smaller one, which is the one I already had, is following the new one around the tank and kinda poking at him. Hopefully they end up getting along.

The Jag and Argentea are pretty much ignoring them. I am thinking about adding 1 or 2 more to complete the stock.

 

[David R]

There are reports that male uaru have red eyes, female orange. There is some debate to if that holds true or not though. Some breeders swear by it for sexing, others swear at it. Hope it helps.

I have a pair both with red eyes, I don't think it has anything to do with sex.

It could go either way eh, they usually get along if grown out together, but I had a friend who had two together and one turned and nearly killed the other. Usually they're pretty placid, I've got 5 from 4-8" in an 80g (for now) including the pair, and there's a bit of aggro when they're getting close to laying eggs but other than that they get on fine.

Not sure how they'd go with the jag though...

 

[japes]

They're best kept in at least a compatible pair or Trio's anyway.

 

[Angler]

They're best kept in at least a compatible pair or Trio's anyway.

I think sometime this week I will get one more to make a trio.

 

[cichlid2006]

try to avoid a trio. get even numbers so if a pair(s) do form then the there are more to share the aggression. i think joey has just had a tragedy from having a trio with a pair forming killing the remaining one.

 

[David R]

I had a similar thing happen. The two larger ones buddied up and picked on the smaller one. Funny thing was that if I removed either one of the larger ones then the remaining large one would hang out with the smaller one.

From my experiences, all you can do is try it, but be prepared to separate them if it doesnt work.

 

[joey02]

try to avoid a trio. get even numbers so if a pair(s) do form then the there are more to share the aggression. i think joey has just had a tragedy from having a trio with a pair forming killing the remaining one.

Your right, that did happen to me sadly. When i had 7 in the same tank, i had no problems at all. Then i cut down to 3, and when one reached sexual maturity and wanted the male, she killed the other female. all is fine now though, not any aggression what so ever. In the long run, keep 4-6 or only keep two. 3 is taking a chance like i did.