Cichlid refusing to come out...

[Never2Bknown]

Okay, here's the story. I have one Powder-Blue cichlid who is a little bit bigger than the other three that I have, and used to be the meanest of the lot as well. Not anymore. As it is, she appears to be becoming more and more obsessed with with my trio of Kuhli Loaches who mainly hide out underneath a hollow plastic fungus, which she has dug out and made her "cave." It used to be that she was protective of them, chasing away the other cichlids if they tried to come near them. Now, all she ever does is guard the entrance to the fungus, usually only poking her head out at most. Once in a while she does come out, but just for a very short time, and she always sticks very close by the fungus. From being the most aggressive of the fish, she has become the shyest, and I never see her anymore. Is this just a phase that she will "grow out of," or can I expect this for a while? It's not like the Kuhli Loaches are going to "grow up" or "move out" any time soon. Is there any way I can convince her that the Kuhli Loaches are NOT her fry? Or at least, if can't, how can I get her to come out more? This is becoming rather annoying.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

It sounds like she may be a he, as it is displaying behavior of typical male mbuna. Has this fish held before, or is there another reason you assume it is a she?

 

[Nina7777]

It sounds like she may be a he, as it is displaying behavior of typical male mbuna. Has this fish held before, or is there another reason you assume it is a she?

my thoughts exactly!

 

[Never2Bknown]

Well, quite honestly, I can't tell male cichlids from females, so I've just been calling him a "she," but I think he's now a "he" again...

...

Say, has anybody else's cichlid ever done anything like this? It hit me that this might be rather wierd behavior. I can't tell, because absolutely every creature that I keep in my room is wierd. Hence, it can be rather hard at times for me to tell what is normal from what isn't...

 

[thecichlidaddict]

As long as he comes out to eat every now and then I wouldn't worry about it, but if he is not eating at all then there could be a worse problem. I don't know if the Khuli loaches are actually part of it, or if he just chose their spot as his territory...

 

[Never2Bknown]

Oh, I know for a fact that the Kuhli Loaches are a part of it. When they do manage to come out, he'll actually "protect" them even when they are on the other side of the tank. The other cichlids have a hard time just coming near the Loaches without being chased away by him.

And yes, he is eating, thankfully. He just appears overly obsessed with protecting his nest; he seldom ever comes out anymore except at night when the Kuhli Loaches come out. He seems to feel compelled to follow them around so that none of the other fish try to bother them. I think he gets stressed out from trying to follow three Kuhli Loaches at one time when they all seem determined to be on deifferent sides of the aquarium.

 

[thecichlidaddict]