Very aggressive red zebra

[RedZebra]

About a year ago, I bought a pair of Red Zebras. My LFS told me "Oh, they'll be fine in a 10 gallon." I'm sure everybody can guess what happened. The male chased the female to death. Since then, he has lived in the 10gallon by himself. He is now about 3" long.

I moved him to my 55gal this weekend and he seems to be having fun. I really don't have any hiding places for him though. I put in a flower pot with the bottom cracked out and he seems to have claimed it.

For tank mates, he has two 3.5" australian rainbows and a 1" cory cat. He's showing alot of aggression toward the rainbows, but they are quicker than him, so they just run away. The cory cat seems to have a grudge or a death wish or something. He seems to enjoy attacking and chasing the cichlid.

Just today, I put in 3 females of the same species. They are much smaller though; about 1". He's chasing them A LOT :( and the only thing I can do to calm him is to turn off all lights in the room and he goes and hangs out in his flower pot. But the lights can't stay off all the time because that's my living room.

What else can I do to calm him down?
Thanks!

[tom]

Hi RedZebra

Welcome to the forums.

Short of lacing the tank with a benzodiazepine, there's probably little you can do further to curb your zebra's natural behavior. I could say "he's been in new quarters a few days; wait and see if things settle down"; but I doubt they will. While the target rainbows can out-swim him, your juvenile zebras (how do you know they're females, by the way?) are likely facing some battering. I realize that since you've had him so long, you may have grown attached to him, but I'd seriously consider beginning a new group of the species--all juveniles.

Maybe another member has found success given a similar situation and can offer you happier advice.

[RedZebra]

Well...since the lights have been out, he has been much more calm...I'm not sure if he just got used to the little ones in the tank, or if the darkness calmed him. I turned the tank light back on and observed him for about a half hour and he never made the first attack on the new ones (just a quick nip at the cory cat with a death wish :) )

I think he may be ok...from what I have seen the agression is gone.

I assumed they were all females...in the tank they came from, there was 2 definate colors of fish, pinky-pale-blue-orange and bright orange. I got 3 bright orange ones.

[jonah]

I really don't have any hiding places for him though. I put in a flower pot with the bottom cracked out and he seems to have claimed it.



If it were me, I'd put him back in the 10g, add more cover (rocks) to the 55g and more red zebras, wait a month or two for them to grow some and get comfortable, and then try to reintroduce the original RZ.


I'd also get rid of the rainbows and corydoras, because sooner or later they'll probably just get killed in there.

[RedZebra]

I would do that, but my wife wanted a fancy guppy tank :roll: . So he'd pretty much wipe out that entire tank in a pretty quick fashon.

[SGypsyMermaid]

i would fill the 55 gal with rocks, and would add more zebras as tom indicated, or just some other mbunas. put the cory in the guppy tank. are you sure that it's a cory?...cories never attack anything, not even in self-defense...they are total pacifists. :?

[RedZebra]

Oh..he's definately a cory and he's definately attacking :twisted: .
I found a landscaping company around the corner that has pallets upon pallets of nice flat rock. I'll have to check with them tomorrow morning to see how much they charge.

[UncleJim]

The only thing I have found that curbs an aggressive Zebra is to put it in with fish larger than itself. After a fifteen minute mouth wrestle with a fully grown Venustus it knuckled under and calmed down.

[JonZeigler]

I also would like to welcome U.
I have had my Red Zebra's for over three years. He is well over 3 1/2 inches. Beautiful. When I first got him, along with five other Zebra's (they were all a package deal), I also had a 10 gallon. Now I have a twenty; I am waiting to move before purchasing something bigger. If he is the dominant fish in the tank, chances are that he will always be. I would suggest you start buying rock to build a cave are something. Rock's can be expensive, so take you time. Using the pot is resourceful.
If you placed more of the same species in the tank, I think that is the best way out (in case they breed). He might not be so aggressive with relatives. I also have a Red Top that grew to almost as big, but he still chases him. I mean, if you do have female/s, his behavior will change. He won't stop chasing, but he might not be as aggressive. He will spend more time trying to mate. That is just me experience.
Just today, I put in 3 females of the same species - I was about to ask you the same question. I have been trying to identify for years and still can't get it right. The males are easy.

Check out recent thread: (http://www.cichlidforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1369)