My Favourite

sean0151 said:

Hi
Would like to talk to anyone about my favourite fish in my tank my choclate cichlids.
i have never come across a more peaceful fun character than these two fish.
Can anyone give any info on them as i dont know if i have a pair or two sexed the same,how do i tell?
The smaller of the two(about 6 inch)has a habit of jumping and hitting the tank lid which makes us all jump,is he likely to hurt himself and if so can i stop it.
They are in a aqua one aquience 600 ltr tank so it is big enough.
Any info on this much loved fish appreciated.
regards
Sean

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hamfist said:

CHocolate cichlids are undoubtedly superb fish !!

Very difficult to sex. Some claim that once approaching full size, the males have longer fin trailers and are more colourful, but this doesn't seem 100% certain.

If your two like each each other at that size , though, they are undoubtedly a pair. Chocs are really quite unpleasant to other chocs, unless they pair with them. If you see a tank of chocs over about 3" in a LFS, you will see one dominant, happy, stubborn fish and the rest will be stressed, dark and usually cowering at the edges of the tank.
Mine is 6" and he is not aggressive, but is very territorial over "his" corner of the tank, and will chase allcomers away. Although he is is perfectly peaceful in the rest of the tank, although he makes sure he is the undisputed king of the tank. My larger sev is bigger than the choc, but the choc is still the boss.
A 600 litre tank is absolutely fine for a pair. DO they have any tankmates ? Mine lives happily with sevs, geos, and tetras.

As for the lid banging, I don't see any way to stop it. I had a flowerhorn that did exactly the same. Used to scare visitors to the house, as they never were expecting it, and he made a huge noise whilst doing it !

If your choc is actually damaging himself, all I could suggest is lowering the water level until he is unable or an-tempted to continue the lid-banging.

Here's a pic of mine, Biff ! In reply, pics of yours are mandtory !!

hamfist said:

CHocolate cichlids are undoubtedly superb fish !!

Very difficult to sex. Some claim that once approaching full size, the males have longer fin trailers and are more colourful, but this doesn't seem 100% certain.

If your two like each each other at that size , though, they are undoubtedly a pair. Chocs are really quite unpleasant to other chocs, unless they pair with them. If you see a tank of chocs over about 3" in a LFS, you will see one dominant, happy, stubborn fish and the rest will be stressed, dark and usually cowering at the edges of the tank.
Mine is 6" and he is not aggressive, but is very territorial over "his" corner of the tank, and will chase allcomers away. Although he is is perfectly peaceful in the rest of the tank, although he makes sure he is the undisputed king of the tank. My larger sev is bigger than the choc, but the choc is still the boss.
A 600 litre tank is absolutely fine for a pair. DO they have any tankmates ? Mine lives happily with sevs, geos, and tetras.

As for the lid banging, I don't see any way to stop it. I had a flowerhorn that did exactly the same. Used to scare visitors to the house, as they never were expecting it, and he made a huge noise whilst doing it !

If your choc is actually damaging himself, all I could suggest is lowering the water level until he is unable or an-tempted to continue the lid-banging.

Here's a pic of mine, Biff ! In reply, pics of yours are mandtory !!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I’m 95% sure my chocolate is a male but just want some clarification on the smaller one. I got them for free from a breeder when I bought the tank and they were in horrible conditions and I wish I could’ve taken more but I brought them back from brink of death to now rough 2 and a half years later. And sadly the smaller one hasn’t really grown at all