Territories & Breeding

[luvthesefish]

Hi, My husband and I are not new to aqauriums but it has been a while for both of us. We ARE however, new to Cichlids but already luv them.

We have two 55 gallon tanks on a stand that holds one on top of the other. We bought everything used. Came from one guy who gave us everything including the fish.

One tank had a giant oscar and two giant feeder gold fish that never got eaten and a giant plecostimus. When I say giant, I mean everybody was 4 to 6 inches long. We gave everyone in that tank to the pet store. Just not interested in the oscar or over-grown other fish.

The other tank had 4 cichlids. One big beautiful blue one about 4 inches long (male?), one smaller bright yellow one about 3 inches long (male?), one like calico one about 4 inches long (female?), and one brown one with big lips about 4 inches long (female?). Also in tank, another giant plecostimus (about 6 inches long), & a river catfish (about 5" long).

This tank was doing just great until we thought that the speckled (might be) female was pregnant. Just a guess and hope, no real knowledge. So we put her in the other tank thinking that the other fish might eat babies.

A week later, after learning that she's probably not pregnant and that they don't need to be separated, I put her back in the tank. That was today. And then I saw a lot of activity. I'm sure many of you know. The gyrating big blue male and brown female were p.o.'d. I thought they were playing at first but that big blue one was up in arms! He was even nipping at the plecostimus. So I came to this forum (quickly) and figured out that it might be a terratorial issue, they must have forgotten about her. (small brains I know but they are really smart fish!).

So I took her out and put her back in the other tank and in time the big blue guy calmed down. But he was pretty upset. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Amy & Rob

[jonah]

My shot in the dark here. I'm guessing that the "female" that was removed might not be a female and being returned to the tank was sort of like introducing a brand new fish. I would rearrange the tank before returning the fish to the original tank and probably try to do it at lights out. Feeding them when you introduce the other fish might distract them too. Overcrowding the tank might help, but I hate to suggest that without knowing what you have. :?

[luvthesefish]

Thanks for your help! A few days ago I did a 25% water change & cleaned the gravel. I added more flat rocks, rearranged and made some caves with the flat rocks. Then I put my spotted fish back in. My big blue one is still very upset at everyfish in the tank. The only fish he does not chase down is a very tine albino pleco that I put in the day after the re-introduction.

My big blue is still doing that shimmy dance and he even slaps the other fish in the face with his tail.

But then sometimes I will observe him & the spotted one hanging out in the bottom like they are flirting. But mostly the spotted one is being chased or is hiding.

I'm not sure but it looks like her tail may have been nipped at.

Will they learn to adjust or do I need to get rid of somefish? Could this be a mating thing?

I have read about the bulge when they have eggs in their mouth...is this obvious?

A reliable & knowlegable Aquarium Store guy has told me that with these African Cichlids, the males are always the vibrant color and the females are not, just like most birds. Does anyone know if this is accurate?

Learning fast,
Amy

[jonah]

[quote:428be1f847="luvthesefish"]

Will they learn to adjust or do I need to get rid of somefish? Could this be a mating thing?[/quote:428be1f847]

It could be a mating thing, but I can't recommend getting rid of fish without knowing what you have. With some African cichlids adding more fish will lower aggression problems.
[quote:428be1f847="luvthesefish"]
I have read about the bulge when they have eggs in their mouth...is this obvious?[/quote:428be1f847]

Yes, it'll be obvious. The female will look like she's rolling marbles in her mouth.
[quote:428be1f847="luvthesefish"]
A reliable & knowlegable Aquarium Store guy has told me that with these African Cichlids, the males are always the vibrant color and the females are not, just like most birds. Does anyone know if this is accurate?[/quote:428be1f847]

Sometimes. With Peacocks and many of the haps, like Scianenochromis fryeri, the males will be colorful and the females bland. With most of the mbuna the females will be as colorful as the males. The electric yellow lab, Labidochromis caeruleus, for instance has identical coloration between males and females. I suspect that's what your yellow fish may be. There's tons of photos on the web out there to ID your fish.


Check out these sites for ID's:
http://malawicichlids.com
www.africancichlids.net
www.vatoelvis.com

[luvthesefish]

[size=24:aaba5ec829][/size:aaba5ec829]Thanks!

[luvthesefish]

Hi again! Well, that blue fish will not leave the brown spotted one alone! In fact now the yellow one is in on the fun of chasing her and nipping her tail off. :(

What should I do :?: I mean, will they like work it out or is somefish going to die :?:

Is that the way it should go or should I do something :?:

Thanks,
Amy :|

[SGypsyMermaid]

in my opinion, mbuna should not be kept in groups smaller than 7. i think that you just got lucky that the fish were living in harmony before you took one of the fish out. now that that delicate social balance has been disrupted, i don't think that there's any going back. i would add a group of about six juvenile fish to the mix to diffuse some of the aggression. although some people feel that smaller fish will be victimized by the larger fish, it's been my experience that the larger fish will only chase the smaller ones periodically, and the smaller fish zipping around the tank break the concentration of the aggressors when they're picking on a tankmate. it's not foolproof, but it has worked for me.

[luvthesefish]

okey-dokey :!: thanks :)