malawi eye biter eats an eye!

[slc,phenochilus]

I get home from work and check out the tank, I had purchased 3 n. livingstonni last week they are small but not small enough for my compressicep to eat. this is the most aggressive and colorfull comp i've ever had he gets bluer day by day and his fins get reder and reder, he's a great evil comp.

Well he went ahead and bit off one of the livingstonni's eyes, and I found out that livingstonni's are tough fish he swims around like nothing ever happened he still eats very good and everything, poor guy just has one eye.

I have read that the compressiceps do this in the wild and that it has not been documented in the aquarium, untill now here you go. proof that the malawi eye biter eats eyes. has anyone else had this happen to them.

[slc,phenochilus]

Just an update, even though it looks like no one cares, After reading alot of these forums and hearing about melafix, I went and got some. I've been treating the tank for 3 days with it, it says to do 7 , the livingstonni eye is really healing up quite nicely
I'm sure he'll be fine and hopefully the d.comp won't bite any of the other fishes eyes off.

[jonah]

Just out of curiousity, did you actually see the comp eat the other fishes eye? I've never seen it happen before. Is there anything else in the tank that might have done it? I'm not doubting you, I just like the whole story.

[Mbuniac]

I care! Especially since I have a P. phenochilus and a D. comp. I plan to add 3 copadichromis in the fairly near future, probably in the 3"-4" range. So I'm real curious. I had always heared that the comp will bite any fish if it thinks it can kill it and consume it a little at a time. My comp is sort of a wuss. He is co-dominant with the phenochilus even tho he is 2" longer. Hope your livingstonne will be okay!
Sam

[giraffe hap]

I don't know....I have a 4"+ comp and I have never had any problems with him attacking any of my other fish. I even have 3 small Cyrtocara moorii in with him and he has never attacked them either. If your comp did do this then it would be the first time I have ever heard of this actually happening. Maybe it is just a coincidence and your fish's eye was damaged by other means, like a jagged rock or by scratching against the gravel/sand or something. In all fairness, even fish deserve a fair and impartial trial before being convicted.

[slc,phenochilus]

hey thanks for your posts.
I'm positive it was the comp, He's allways stalking the livingstonni. and no sorry I did not see it happen.

Here's what I think happend and mbuniac is pretty much right, the d.comp could not eat the livingstonni whole but maybe he could in three bites, so I think his eye's were bigger than his stomach and he thought he could eat the livingstonni and just happen to chomp down on his eye, and completly ripped it out of the socket without harming any other part of his body. so I think it was a coincidence that he happen to take his eye off. they do eat prey head first. But then again he is called the malawi eye biter.

My d.comp chases my phenochilus alot, he never bites him but does chase. Have any of you seen your pheno chase or bite another fish, these guys are like big guppys. but still my fav

here's a list of whats in my tank , just so you don't think that I also have a piranhna in there

1 aul.rubences
1 D.comp
1 phenochilus
2 black calvus currently guarding eggs
1 chinese algea eater
1 queen arabesque pleco
3 small livingstonni
1 n. venustus
1 Botia superciliaris, golden stripe loach
1 Astotilapia aeneocolor(victorian)
and I might be forgetting somthing
I want to try and fit in an n. fusceonatius bit the tank will be full when these guys get full size for sure.
I don't think any needs to worry about there d.comp doing this, except me my livingstonni still has one more eye