Will adding more lower agression?
- Thread starter The Flizzle
- Start date
I am always amazed at how many Con's are in a tank at the LFS with no problems. I was unable to catch mine. I will have to remove all the deco and I cant do that right now. Perhaps I will have more time over the weekend. Other than a few silver dollars, what else could I try as dithers? Could I try the dithers with the con's in there?
ciocca;5103048; said:
Yes, I'm pretty sure we've all been to a LFS, but how many people want their tanks to look like a LFS retail tank? I think the OP is trying for a more natural look to his tank.
The issue with the Cons is that you have a pair and they become very agessive. Your stock may or may not have to be adjusted over time somtimes when fish grow up together they get along better and reach a truce where each has there own area and the tank is calm as long as nothing upsets the balance. Sometimes it doesn't work depending on the fish themselves as, I said time will tell. I think adding some dither will help but the fish you choose will have to be big enough and fast enough not become food. I'm not a big fan of overstocking to stem aggrision, to me less is more when it comes to stocking, it's also less work and IMO. Gruff explained it well on the first page. Your tank needs some time for your stock to adjust then based on your observations and preferance make changes as nessisary.
Yeaahh, uhh. I'm gonna be a little controversional here i guess.
Overstocking has ALWAYS worked for me. With big aggro territorial fish, it's the best way to grow perfect specimens if you ask me.
My tanks have always been overstocked (except ofcourse breedings tanks, etc.)
And not a single fish of mine can you find a missing scale or a torn fin on. Not one. And i even have a large pair of breeding jags in my community.
So yes, it definatly works. But you also kind of have to know what you are doing. Every single piece of decor in the tank, be it a rock or a piece of driftwood has to be carefully positioned and thought out.
If i were you i would go with Aquanero's suggestion and add some silver dollars. 6-8 maybe (of a decent size) and see how that works out.
Overstocking has ALWAYS worked for me. With big aggro territorial fish, it's the best way to grow perfect specimens if you ask me.
My tanks have always been overstocked (except ofcourse breedings tanks, etc.)
And not a single fish of mine can you find a missing scale or a torn fin on. Not one. And i even have a large pair of breeding jags in my community.
So yes, it definatly works. But you also kind of have to know what you are doing. Every single piece of decor in the tank, be it a rock or a piece of driftwood has to be carefully positioned and thought out.
If i were you i would go with Aquanero's suggestion and add some silver dollars. 6-8 maybe (of a decent size) and see how that works out.
Over stocking Central/South Americans has never worked for me and I have been in your situation many times. At the end of the day you have to thin your stock down and hope to strike some kind of balance in the process. Be careful of what you sell off. In my opinion one of your larger fish will need to go. The convicts although aggressive will get put in there place sooner or later by one of those large fish you have.
Over stocking CA's has worked in the short term for me, because it speads out the aggression. The problem is that if you have one fish that is looking to kill all others in the tank then they will keep trying. You will just end up w/ more dead fish. The best thing to do is to remove the overly aggressive cichlid. Also I would like to add that dithers or target non-cichlid fish don't really work. Most cichlids only see other cichlids as competition for territory.
I think I am going to remove the carpintis and jag. That leaves the Stalsbergi, Cons, and JD. This seems like such a low population, but if it will help bring my fish out where I can see them it will be worth it. If there is room for more, maybe a chocolate cichlid in the future. I read online they are relatively peacefull and I love the look.
To get the fish out, Im going to have to remove all my rocks and decor .... just the thought of doing that makes me insane. Couple hundred pounds of rock and I just got it to where I like it. =(
To get the fish out, Im going to have to remove all my rocks and decor .... just the thought of doing that makes me insane. Couple hundred pounds of rock and I just got it to where I like it. =(
If you want to you probably can kept the Convict as long as you don't have a pair, all males or all females... Also it wouldn't hurt to add a few dithers.
I just removed the carpintis and jag. Also did my biweekly 50% water change and put the decor back in. All seems well so far. Ill keep and eye on them over the next couple days and see how they behave. In the meantime, Ill research some dither fish. Other than silver dollars, is there anything that traditionally works well for you? My LFS has silvers for $9 at about 2" that might work. Just checking my options.
Clown Loaches, giant danios, silver dollar, tiger barbs, all work well but non-cichlid dithers won't do much for aggression. I've added dithers to spread aggression and the cichlids just ignore them or kill them and continue being aggressive.
