My Dempsey Killed My Snake Head :'-(

micropeltes

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I just cant believe it happened. the snake head was larger than the dempsey and it still managed to bully it and break its back. the only thing is when im back from work... the dempsey seems to chase the other cichlids in the tank and the tinfoil.... but i wasnt around at one time and when i come back i see the snakehead with its middle bent... and its twisting all over the place. it wasnt eating since... after several days it died. my lil sister told me it was the dempsey who was poking it.

the snakehead was my favorite fish... i taught it how to eat dead food.. made it a decent size and then it gets killed!

now im furious... im buying a red devil and giving the dempsey a run for its money!!! if anyone can suggest anything more aggressive then please put forward your suggestions.

thank you for reading this.. its a load off my chest!
 
so you are buying a more aggressive fish to bully the dempsey?

what other fish do you have in the tank and what size is it? This info is needed to advise on appropriate tankmates.
 
Depends on what size tank you have and what other fish apart from the Dempsey. I had a male Dempsey that used to get bullied by Texas, my red devil and my dovii... But to be fair the dovii would just put them all to shame

Also I wouldn't advise buying another fish just to bully one that you already have. Why not rehome the Dempsey if he/she is overly aggressive?
 
so you are buying a more aggressive fish to bully the dempsey?

what other fish do you have in the tank and what size is it? This info is needed to advise on appropriate tankmates.
I have these two other cichlids whom ive been told by the fish shop that they are like "Zulu Warriors"... im not sure of the name but they are brown/light brown with a big spot on each side... these two killed my albino tiger oscar which was larger than both of them put together.. they bit the oscar all over the place.. they also killed the tiger oscar. but they dont mess with the dempsey cos the dempsey chases them all over the place.
i also have a tinfoil in there... the longest standing fish in my tank.

i think even if the snake head was bigger.. the dempsey would probably chase it still. the dempsey was soo shy when i had lots of fishes in my tank (including several other cichlids and community fishes) but after when some of them died and others sold just make space for the bigger fishes.. he just got so aggressive.

Depends on what size tank you have and what other fish apart from the Dempsey. I had a male Dempsey that used to get bullied by Texas, my red devil and my dovii... But to be fair the dovii would just put them all to shame

Also I wouldn't advise buying another fish just to bully one that you already have. Why not rehome the Dempsey if he/she is overly aggressive?

Hmm.. not sure what a dovii is... are you based in UK?

i have this other cichlid.. i wanted to find out the name of it.. its pretty #40## aggressive and it bites like mad.... its brown on top and light brown around the belley with two large spots on each side?

im just so pissed with the dempsey.. even though i cleaned the tank properly again and re-did the dempseys cave... i still want it to pay!!!

so you are buying a more aggressive fish to bully the dempsey?

what other fish do you have in the tank and what size is it? This info is needed to advise on appropriate tankmates.
I have these two other cichlids whom ive been told by the fish shop that they are like "Zulu Warriors"... im not sure of the name but they are brown/light brown with a big spot on each side... these two killed my albino tiger oscar which was larger than both of them put together.. they bit the oscar all over the place.. they also killed the tiger oscar. but they dont mess with the dempsey cos the dempsey chases them all over the place.
i also have a tinfoil in there... the longest standing fish in my tank.

i think even if the snake head was bigger.. the dempsey would probably chase it still. the dempsey was soo shy when i had lots of fishes in my tank (including several other cichlids and community fishes) but after when some of them died and others sold just make space for the bigger fishes.. he just got so aggressive.

Depends on what size tank you have and what other fish apart from the Dempsey. I had a male Dempsey that used to get bullied by Texas, my red devil and my dovii... But to be fair the dovii would just put them all to shame

Also I wouldn't advise buying another fish just to bully one that you already have. Why not rehome the Dempsey if he/she is overly aggressive?

Hmm.. not sure what a dovii is... are you based in UK?

i have this other cichlid.. i wanted to find out the name of it.. its pretty #40## aggressive and it bites like mad.... its brown on top and light brown around the belley with two large spots on each side?

im just so pissed with the dempsey.. even though i cleaned the tank properly again and re-did the dempseys cave... i still want it to pay!!!

i meant 1 spot on each side
 
I can honestly tell you, if your Dempsey has a mind to be a bully, then bully he shall and there is really no stopping him. I have a pair myself and they do not have any biased towards opponent size. I watched my three inch femle back an 8 inch oscar into a corner and put him on the floor. My male Jack gave a GT a good run for his money.

I hate to say this, but you chose this when you decided to have cichlids...large cichlids at that. They are aggressive and no amount of bigger fish will change that. Cichlids fight, and cichlids choose their tankmates, not you. Just because they are deemed compatible does not mean they will co-exist.

Also, if you add fish for the sake of teaching your Jack a lesson, you are only asking for a stressed out tank and an Ich outbreak.

Others have seen this in my thread.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU5988-sZK0
 
So, what is the tank size?

And no swearing please, this is a family friendly forum.
 
So, what is the tank size?

And no swearing please, this is a family friendly forum.

i didnt swear though :-S .... i only said d a m n and it encypted it.. strange.

i have a 120L tank.... and yep i will be upgrading to a larger tank.. i just didnt have the money to upgrade... yet
 
That right there is your problem! You have some rather large agressive fish crammed into a tiny space. Jck Dempseys get to b about 8-9 inches long and are territorial. He needs his personal space and the fish you have were invading it.
 
That right there is your problem! You have some rather large agressive fish crammed into a tiny space. Jck Dempseys get to b about 8-9 inches long and are territorial. He needs his personal space and the fish you have were invading it.
yep i have my eye on one... its pretty large with a stand.. but its soo expensive... and im gonna need a bigger filter and heater........................ OR.................. i cud just sell the dempsey and stick to smaller fishes.
 
I'll recommend option number 2.

it sounds like the upgrade is a long way off so it's the smarter choice currently.
 
I'll recommend option number 2.

it sounds like the upgrade is a long way off so it's the smarter choice currently.
ok thats fine.. i'll think about it.

can you please tell me what cichlid this one is? its the one in the middle with a spot on its side My fishes

thanks
 
So you want to buy an even meaner fish to bully your dempsey? That's the craziest thing I have heard in ages lol. Jaguar cichlid or a Dovi or a Trimac will give it a good run for it's money. And if they are big enough may even kill it for you. But still buying a even more aggressive fish is not the way to go about things. And was it channa micropeltes that you owned? Coz they get to big for most home aquariums unless you was planning to go with like a 7x3x3. Also that looks like a jaguar cichlid to me they also need huge tanks around 200 gallons.
 
So you want to buy an even meaner fish to bully your dempsey? That's the craziest thing I have heard in ages lol. Jaguar cichlid or a Dovi or a Trimac will give it a good run for it's money. And if they are big enough may even kill it for you. But still buying a even more aggressive fish is not the way to go about things

lol i was just soo angry thats why lol..... i dont think i'll find a dovii in london....

anyway can u tell me what cichlid this one is: (Link) .... its the middle cichlid with a spot... it killed a lot of my fishes..
 
possibly a jaguar cichlid, although I'm no expert.

would certainly explain why its killed plenty of fish though. Nasty species!
 

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