Got A Question About Cichlids

[tekguy]

So I bought 7 african cichlids for my 55 Gal tank. I noticed that they are all staying near the pump intake. Anyone have any ideas? The PH seems to be fine ( 7.6 ) and the temp is 75ish any ideas? I hope im not harming them but its kind of weird that they are all hoving neat the pump intake.

Thank you!

 

[daddyfish]

So I bought 7 african cichlids for my 55 Gal tank. I noticed that they are all staying near the pump intake. Anyone have any ideas? The PH seems to be fine ( 7.6 ) and the temp is 75ish any ideas? I hope im not harming them but its kind of weird that they are all hoving neat the pump intake.

Thank you!

I've kept African Cichlids myself. As well as Oscars.

As long as the 7 Cichlids you have are of the Smaller Variety Number wise to your Tank Size should be fine.

Average Tank Temp for a Cichlid tank Should be approx at Min 76 degrees F, Prefereed is 78 to 82 give or take a degree, when dealing with these fish 1 degree higher is better then Lower, provided it's not too extreme...
The highest it should be allowed to go is No More then 86 degrees F.

The Ph of 7.6 is O K but Could stand to be maybe a little Higher. between 7.8 and 8.0 is where I keep them.

A little Tid Bit is that Cichlids like their Water to be a little bit on the Hard Side.
If your water where you live is a little On the Soft Side or even if it's Neutral around 7.0, You can use a couple of pieces of Limestone, to HELP Buffer your waters Ph, this is what I use in my tanks.
It helps to keep the Ph right at the preferred Range of 7.8 to 8.0, even 8.2 won't Hurt providing it's not a Rapid change.

I don't like to use Chems as if your not real careful you can change it to rapidly which will/can Spell Death for your Fish.

As far as them hanging around the Filter Intake, I can't answer. )

But do you have any Rocks setup into Cave like formations? For them to Hide in and claim territory?
Cichlids are Very territorial.
This maybe the reason WHY they are hanging close by the intake, thats where they feel Safest
Which is another thing thats good about using Limestone, it serves a dual purpose. Caves for Living and Buffers the Ph for your Beloved Fish.

A Few Plastic plants of Various Sizes spread across the Tank also Helps.

I don't really know if this will Help Much, But this is what it Sounds like to me Maybe the problem
If I can HELP anymore please let me know.
And {PLEASE KEEP ME POSTED} daddyfish

 

[tekguy]

I've kept African Cichlids myself. As well as Oscars.

As long as the 7 Cichlids you have are of the Smaller Variety Number wise to your Tank Size should be fine.

Average Tank Temp for a Cichlid tank Should be approx at Min 76 degrees F, Prefereed is 78 to 82 give or take a degree, when dealing with these fish 1 degree higher is better then Lower, provided it's not too extreme...
The highest it should be allowed to go is No More then 86 degrees F.

The Ph of 7.6 is O K but Could stand to be maybe a little Higher. between 7.8 and 8.0 is where I keep them.

A little Tid Bit is that Cichlids like their Water to be a little bit on the Hard Side.
If your water where you live is a little On the Soft Side or even if it's Neutral around 7.0, You can use a couple of pieces of Limestone, to HELP Buffer your waters Ph, this is what I use in my tanks.
It helps to keep the Ph right at the preferred Range of 7.8 to 8.0, even 8.2 won't Hurt providing it's not a Rapid change.

I don't like to use Chems as if your not real careful you can change it to rapidly which will/can Spell Death for your Fish.

As far as them hanging around the Filter Intake, I can't answer. )

But do you have any Rocks setup into Cave like formations? For them to Hide in and claim territory?
Cichlids are Very territorial.
This maybe the reason WHY they are hanging close by the intake, thats where they feel Safest
Which is another thing thats good about using Limestone, it serves a dual purpose. Caves for Living and Buffers the Ph for your Beloved Fish.

A Few Plastic plants of Various Sizes spread across the Tank also Helps.

I don't really know if this will Help Much, But this is what it Sounds like to me Maybe the problem
If I can HELP anymore please let me know.
And {PLEASE KEEP ME POSTED} daddyfish

Hello Daddyfish,

I just checked on the guys and they seem to be doing fine. I got this blueish african cichlid ( i am not sure what his actual species is called ) but he is bad!!! I did setup some rocks, I got about four nice cavelike areas ( including under the rock ) but hes chasing the other fishes out of all of those areas. He does his rounds every 2 mins or so to make sure no one is located in the rock formations its actually pretty funny. So i think i found the reason why. Any idea on how to make him less territorial? Can i beat some sense into him? . I will also take your advice on the PH and temp. Thank you very much!

 

[daddyfish]

As for Can you beat some sense into the one fish. GOODLUCK!!!!

Only the others can do that, That is once they Get sick of it, and decide to "Fight Back".

I have One that use to be that way until one of the Smaller of the Bunch, taught him a lesson...
Go Figure. It just goes to Show You It ain't the Size that Counts It's the Attitude....

You mentioned that the One Cichlid is of Blueish Color.
Is he like a real MED Shade of Blue, My wife would call it a Baby Blue with a Greenish Hue to it, and shines almost Like a Mirror Reflection. or Metallic?

If he does he Maybe a Malawi Cichlid which can get to be about 18" Long average 12 to 18".
These Fish are very territorial. Which in it self isn't Bad, But and there's always a But we know this.

If he is in with Ciclids of Similar Size, and aggressiveness they should be fine.

But with that Many of 12 to 18" you could Only keep 2 Max Once Grown.

But I can't help much with the possible Sizes, if I don't know the Breed of Cichlids you have.

Could you possibly tell me the Breeds? I'd me more then Happy to Help as much as I can.

My Motto for "TRUE" Fish keeping is this.

"Fish Keeping" It's Not just a Hobby It's an Obsession.

 

[Matty]

as for the hovering near the filter outlet, maybe that is the only place where the fish can find shelter and feel safe from your bully cichlid. i remember seeing a documentary on fish that said something along the lines of: " fish will flock to wherever they can seek cover from larger or more aggressive fish."

 

[daddyfish]

as for the hovering near the filter outlet, maybe that is the only place where the fish can find shelter and feel safe from your bully cichlid. i remember seeing a documentary on fish that said something along the lines of: " fish will flock to wherever they can seek cover from larger or more aggressive fish."

Although I think this unlikely, considering the following post.

It is an avenue that Could have Some Merit to it.
After all It is True: There are SAFETY in NUMBERS...

But since the Poster has already said the fish Have to some Extent settled down.
I feel it's likely that they'll Settle their territorial dispute on there OWN.

But also Worth Noting:
If and this is just an If.

If the aggressive Fish should get to the Point of doing actual damage to the others.
You have a Couple of Choices.

#1. Continue and let them Sort it Out, Which isn't advisable if there is actual Bodily Damage being done.
Not just Fin Nipping, But True Bites being taken out of the other.
In this Case action needs to be taken to Safe Guard all the Fish.

#2. If Over aggressiveness is taking Place.
You need to separate them into Separate Tanks if you can.
2a. Return the aggressive fish back to your LPS where purchased, for a Refund, Or exchange for a Fish that is More mild tempered, like the ones that are being bullied.
2b. Or keep the aggressive one and return the Others.

In any event we Must safe guard the lives of all the fish, that God has given us charge of.

But it's been the better part of my 37 yrs in the Fish keeping Hobby, that You take out the One giving you problems, and one of the others are going to get Cocky and try to take the others place.

I've seen this trait even in Community Fish, But it's not as likely to happen as it is to the More aggressive Breeds of Fish. ie. Cichlids, Oscars, Jack Dempsey's and the Like.

 

[freddyk]

as for the hovering near the filter outlet, maybe that is the only place where the fish can find shelter and feel safe from your bully cichlid

This is probably exactly what's happening and is normal when there is a tyrant in the tank. 7 mbuna in a 55 gallon is understocked and this is probably part of the problem - assuming you have mbuna, you should double the number, then daddyfishes crowd theory comes into play.

This leads to another evident problem - you don't know what fish you have. These fish range immensly in temperment and randomly choosing fish inevitably leads to problems. As your fish grow they will only get more aggressive, and choosing species wisely is important for long term stability in the tank.

 

[tekguy]

Hello All,

I took some pictures to help out wit identifying them. I am heading back to the LFS today to find out what type of fishes they are. I know the yellow ones are "Electric Yellow" but i am concerned about the blue guy. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!!

 

[daddyfish]

Without as In said Knowing the exact types I can't really tell you.
By the picture of the Blue one it's not a Malawi Cichlid.

The Breeds that I see here remind me of the Smaller ones I had, and I Never had too much Problems with them Cohabiting.

This may just be a Shot In the Dark. But it's worth a look See.

I can tell all of the fish are closely related Breed Wise, by the shapes and markings.
So they are more likely going to be 4 to 6 inches when grown. If they are the same as I had.

Anyway. IS the Blue One the only one of his kind in your tank?

If he is it's probably just a FEAR Response on his part. He's the Only One of his Breed in the tank, So he feels that he needs to Show the others He's Bigger and Badder then they are, before they all gang Up on him.

I know that seems Stupid BUT: I've seen it in all different types of fish breeds, Community and Otherwise.
If this seems to be the case too you, Get a Couple more Blue ones and that should Settle them down a bit.
Cause then he'll feel that he's not all alone then.

If this isn't feasible to you. Then take the Blue one back to your LFS and get another of the other Breed.

But as posted by a Fellow Forum Member above, These fish are so wide a Variety Breed Wise, and Range so much in temperament.
When I set up a tank of Cichlids I stay with all the same Breed for that tank.

Because in the Long Run it saves a lot of Headaches. .

Keep Us Posted, Let us know when you find out for sure the breeds.
And I'll see what else I might be able to do. daddyfish

 

[CroNiC]

They could be german rams ..

 

[freddyk]

The blue one looks like a Maylandia Callainos (often referred to as a cobalt zebra) and is indeed a Malawi cichlid . It's fairly aggressive cichlid compared to the Labs, and keeping those types you need to have an overstocked tank of more suitable mbuna. The fish you have are from a highly aggressive group called mbuna and not only do they need crowds, but as rock dwellers in the wild they also need lots of hiding spots, and while the picture depicts only a portion of the tank it certainly looks like the tank is not decorated appropriately for them.

Go to the 'African' section and check out the sticky on 'mbuna' which will give you all sorts of introductory information on keeping these types of fish. They are stunning fish and truly rewarding to keep when one has the right information on them.