Agressive Fish (Kaiser II)

[mistry]

Hi,

I've had my Jewel 180 running for about 3 months now. At present having the following - 2 Frontosa, 1 black Kaiser II (about 6cm each), 3 lemon cichlids and a larger Plec. All the fish have been living happy since now. However I've noticed the black Kaiser II starting to be aggressive towards the Frontosa's. At first it was just chasing the fish around the tank at feeding time, however I've noticed now the fins have started to be nipped. The Kaiser II seems to be getting more aggressive and constantly bullying the Frontosa. Are there any suggestions as to why the fish is getting more aggressive? Should I look to buy another companion for the Kaiser? I was also thinking of introducing 3 clown loaches into the tank, would they have any problems? All water quality is within the normal limits and I've been feeding the fish once a day with a variety of food. Any help would be great.

Thanks

 

[semper fi]

what is the size of the tank in gallons? do you have a scientific name for the kaiser? trade names are unreliable as they can vary from area to area.

if you are having problems with it showing aggression, i would not add new fish. more than likely they will be beat on. when new fish are added to cichlid communities, the pecking order has to be reestablished. sounds like the kaiser is establishing himself as master of the tank now. you could try to add some dither fish to take the aggression off the frontosa's if they are showing signs of stress. i would seriously think about returning the kaiser if possible. nipping can lead to infection. seeing as you have a plec in there, you can't add salt as a preventative measure.

 

[mistry]

Hello,

Thankyou for the advise. The tank is 180 litres which is 40 (uk gallons) and 47 (us gallons). I've seen the fish described as Tropheus sp. black "Kaiser II) or Tropheus sp. "Ikola" (Ikola) on other chichlid websites. The agression is usually when the tank light is turned on and when its time for feeding, is it worth feeding twice a day? I spoken to the shop where I bought the fish and they suggested possibly getting more fish of the same type as you suggested. This may hopefully calm the Kaiser II down a little bit. The lager Frontosa does sometimes stands up to the Kaiser but they seemed to be driven to each corner of the tank. Thanks again for your advise.