Are My Fish Fighting?

[Klona]

Yesterday night when i came into my room i noticed these 2 fish going in circles and sticking into each other, then pushing away, they kept repeating this 3-5 times until they stopped, i was able to take some pictures of them.
Are they fighting?
They're both blue with dark blue stripes.

 

[waterdrop]

Looks like you've got some cichlids (the members will probably be alone shortly to identify which type, they love that) there that are probably either getting territorial or have proceeded to mating or both. WD

 

[KittyKat]

Those look like some sort of Rift Lake cichlids, can you confirm if they are?

That group of fish is very aggressive and have very different requirements from community fish. Those two look like they are older juveniles, is that the case? If it is, the fighting will get worse with time.

To prevent fighting, you may need to change your décor and your stocking.

 

[Klona]

I searched on google, i think they're Pseudotropheus Lombardoi.
Well yesterday, most of their Fins were BLACK, today when i woke up, the black color wasn't on their fin anymore.
And i have this yellow fish (I think they're the same type but a different color) it also has a black line on it's dorsal fin, but it disappears and reappears sometimes.
Anyway, they're all pretty that i can just sit all day and look at them.
EDIT : Just to make sure, how many times should i feed them a day?

 

[waterdrop]

How many times you feed them depends on how tiny an amount of food you're able to give them lol. I feed mine a very small amount in the morning and that's it, but in the wild of course they get little tiny bits (really probably wildly irregular) throughout the day. Fish can and do go for weeks without food in many wild conditions.

A common beginner mistake is overfeeding. Food that is not eaten drifts in to the substrate and begins to be broken down by ever-present heterotrophic bacteria into smaller and smaller organic molecules and ultimately ammonia. Food that collects in the filter creates a slightly raised ammonia and nitrite level within the filter and that provides the perfect environment for the two species of autotrophic bacteria (Nitrosomonas spp. and Nitrospira spp. and their genetic variants) to flourish.

For the aquarist there is a constant tradeoff between giving the fish a healthy diet but also keeping the tank in a nice clean state. The weekly water-change-substrate-clean is really the most powerful tool in this process.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[KittyKat]

Klona, I'm afraid that you might have a problem: Metriaclima lombardoi are a very aggressive species and adults can and will kill each other.

Their environment is also very different from what you appear to have: ideally, their aquarium should have a large quantity of rockwork in it, filling 1/3 to 2/3 of the volume. As a result, they will need powerful filtration to make sure there is even flow through the rocks. Unless your aquarium is in the 4*2*2 ft size, you are very likely to have problems with more than one fish, and by problems, I mean fighting. Those two still look like babies, but then they grow up, the fighting will become tearing chunks out of each other.

Is your aquarium big enough to support them as adults? If not, you should take them back to the shop where you bought them. Please research all fish before you buy them!

In response to your original question, between males, that is usually a show of strength, between a male and female, it is preparation for mating, or a mating attempt.

As for their diet, all they can eat completely in 30-60 seconds, twice per day, is about right. Malawi Mbuna (which is what these are) require a predominantly vegetarian diet, so generic fish flakes won't cut it in the long run.

Here is a good starting point for research on this species: http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/m_lombardoi.php and http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=798 , you're obviously not the only one who has been caught out with the pretty colours

 

[Klona]

So what fish do you suggest for me?
With easy care, pretty, make them reproduce easily.
EDIT : I have 8 fish in that tank... 4 Yellow and 4 Blue with Dark Blue Stripes.

 

[Tizer]

could get some livebearers, but you would need somewhere to unload the unwanted fish, maybe ask your local fish shop.

 

[Louiseness]

So what fish do you suggest for me?
With easy care, pretty, make them reproduce easily.

What size is your tank? What else do you have in there already?

 

[the_lock_man]

could get some livebearers, but you would need somewhere to unload the unwanted fish, maybe ask your local fish shop.

Livebearers are very easy to care for and easy to breed. And hard to move on. Some LFS will take them and give you credit, others will take them as a favour, yet others simply refuse.

I'm starting to breed rarer livebearers, as it'll be (hopefully) easier to move the juveniles on.

 

[Klona]

I don't know what size my tank is, but i googled these livebearers... they're not really my type.
Btw, are clownfish compatible with normal water?
EDIT : I can take a picture of the tank, if you want to?

 

[Tizer]

clownfish are marine fish, salt water. so no.

You need to have a good read of the beginners resource forums and educate yourself a little, thats where i would start, loads and loads of useful information and you will be up to scratch in no time.

A picture is a good start

 

[KittyKat]

Yes, it very much depends on your current aquarium and what sort of set-up you want.

I am not saying that these fish are "bad", because personally I think they are very nice, but they require special care, which some other species do not to such as extent.

Measure your aquarium with a tape measure and give us the length, height and front-to-back numbers.

 

[fluttermoth]

You must not put anything else in your tank at the moment.

The blue and yellow fish you have are mbuna cichlids from Lake Malawi. They are very aggressive and will kill anything else you put in with them. They have very specific requirements if you want to keep them, as KittyKat mentioned; they need a mass of rockwork and very heavy filtration and they must be overstocked to spread the aggression round. Kept in small numbers, as you have yours, they'll just kill each other.

Clownfish (I'm guessing you mean like Nemo) are marine fish, and even harder to care for than mbuna.

I'm afraid there is a lot more to keeping fish than just picking ones that are pretty

 

[Klona]

Here are the pictures, i put a biology text book so you can not confuse between sizes.