Bumblebee Behavior

[Never2Bknown]

I mentioned before in another thread of mine that I had a Bumblebee cichlid along with my other three cichlids, and I was informed that Bumblebees had a tendency towards more aggressive behavior than many other kinds of cichlids. I am now beginning to wonder whether this is really true or not. All of my cichlids are the same size--one shy yellow one with black on its dorsal, one white and yellow one with lateral black stripes, one Ice-Blue Jewel, and the Bumblebee. And out of all of them, the Bumblebee is the only one with nipped (not ragged) fins. He is very healthy and shows no signs of illness whatsoever, and yet, despite what I have heard about Bumblebees, he is the shyest cichlid in my aquarium. The only cichlid that chases the others is the Jewel; the rest of them seem fairly at peace with the other fish.
So what is with this Bumblebee? Is it supposed to be this shy?

 

[semper fi]

my bumblebees were shy til they got bigger and then battled the chippokae over king of the tank. they are mbuna, but about midrange as far as aggression.

your yellow one with black, sounds like a yellow lab, the bumblebee should be more aggressive than that one.

i would say your culprit is the jewel. i had a problem with one of my jewels as far as aggression. my husband put him in with the africans cause he was getting beat in his tank and he turned on them.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Unfortunately you can get idea's on aggression, but in the end ever fish and aquarium has it's own results, and there are never guarantees. Sometimes a fish that has a reputation for being aggressive may end up docile, and a fish that should be passive ends up a terror. In addition behavior in these fish can drastically change as they grow and mature, so if your fish are young things can still change.

If your Bumblebee is getting relentlessly abused you might want to isolate it. You should also consider returning the Jewel, IMO.

 

[Never2Bknown]

Thankyou for your advice and explanations! Although it may, indeed, be wise advice to return the Jewel, I regret to say that I have already become rather attached to it. So, what I plan on doing, seeing as the cichlids will soon need more room anyway, is divide them into two separate tanks. The two most aggressive cichlids--the Jewel and the striped one--will move into the new tank. The two more docile fish--the Bumblebee and the Yellow Lab--will remain in the old tank. I think the Jewel might be able to use a "change of scenery." If, however, the Bumblebee becomes more aggressive later on, I may end up doing a little bit of "rearranging."

Is this a good or bad idea?

 

[Never2Bknown]

Boy, do I feel stupid!
Thanks to kribs mate, I was able to find a link to a site on which I found the names of all of my cichlids:
Bumblebee Cichlid
Electric Yellow lab
Powder Blue (not a Jewel--oops!)
Malawi Golden Cichlid
I cannot believe I did not pay more attention to their names when I bought them. Talk about incompetence.
I also hear that my Malawi Golden is supposed to be very aggressive--he's only the second most aggressive fish in the tank (for now!).

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Is your Malawi Golden a Melanochromis Auratus?

tip: Try to always use the scientific names. Common names are often shared by many species, and change depending where you are in the world. I have no idea what a golden cichlid is, the powder blue is probably Socolofi, the bumblebee is a Crabo.

 

[Never2Bknown]

Their Scientific names:
Bumblebee: crabro
Electric Yellow lab: Labidochromis caeruleus
Powder Blue: Pseudotropheus socolofi
Malawi Golden: Melanochromis auratus

 

[Figure-8]

I had bumblebee's and other cichlids mixed with them and they where more agressive towards each other then the other cichlids i dont know if its just cause i had more but from what ive experiance they have only been agressive to each other but also i think every fish can have its one personality.

 

[Never2Bknown]

That's good to know! If the Bumblebees are only aggressive towards others of their own species, it seems that I might just be in luck... All four of my cichlids are different types; the only cichlid that has been very aggressive so far is my Powder Blue Cichlid (Pseudotropheus socolofi). Most certainly, their personalities might change, but hopefully it will not be for the worse.

 

[Figure-8]

I would just watch to make sure that there not picking on your other fish but there might be a chance you will be fine just watch out for them picking on the other fish to much.