Cichlid Aggression

[Momzzz123]

Hi guys,

I have two cichlids (Along with two armored carfish who aren't causing problems) and they are showing major agression towards eachother. It started as the yellow one being the boss (there was a larger blue one that died due to nematodes and all have since been treated), and now they've switched places in the hierarchy. I'm not sure what to do, the blue and orange one will not stop attacking the yellow. I did a water change two days ago thinking they were stressed because of dirty water, but the agression is at the same level. I've also been feeding them plenty. Please let me know any thoughts on how to fix this problem!

Thank you,
Austin

 

[GaryE]

There is no solution. You've gotten yourself two very aggressive fish and put them in a tank that's way too small for them. I can only see one in your pictures (sorry to say, you also have at least one catfish that will outgrow that tank rapidly too).
They are a type of Cichlid that lives in large groups in nature, and that sort out rank constantly, but with the rough behaviour spread around in the large group. One against one will end up with one dead and the other very cramped.

 

[jaylach]

What is your tank size? I don't recognize your fish but, by body style, I think they MAY in the Acara family. If that is the case your tank looks to be too small from the photos as such fish are territorial and can easily become aggressive as to claiming their territory.

 

[AmyKieran]

What is your tank size? I don't recognize your fish but, by body style, I think they MAY in the Acara family. If that is the case your tank looks to be too small from the photos as such fish are territorial and can easily become aggressive as to claiming their territory.

I think the yellow one is a bumblebee cichlid and the blue faced one is a sunshine cichlid

 

[jaylach]

I think the yellow one is a bumblebee cichlid and the blue faced one is a sunshine cichlid

Actually I thought that the blue might be an acara. Hard to really tell from the photo but the yellow in the fish probably says no unless it is a cross breed. From what I've read blue and yellow acara can breed resulting in some strange color pasterns.

 

[AmyKieran]

Actually I thought that the blue might be an acara. Hard to really tell from the photo but the yellow in the fish probably says no unless it is a cross breed. From what I've read blue and yellow acas can breed.

Yeah it’s difficult and I don’t know too much about American cichlids but to me it looked like a sunshine cichlid. Without a better photo we can’t be sure

 

[Momzzz123]

What is your tank size? I don't recognize your fish but, by body style, I think they MAY in the Acara family. If that is the case your tank looks to be too small from the photos as such fish are territorial and can easily become aggressive as to claiming their territory.

My tank size is 20 gallons. I has no idea this was the case, I just asked the person at the store for advise and told them about the setup they were going into. This is my first time having fish so sorry about how inexperienced I am

 

[Slaphppy7]

First rule in fishkeeping: NEVER trust the advice of pet shop employees...they are there to make $$$, not give good advice

A majority of the time, they are clueless about proper fishkeeping

 

[Momzzz123]

First rule in fishkeeping: NEVER trust the advice of pet shop employees...they are there to make $$$, not give good advice

A majority of the time, they are clueless about proper fishkeeping

Point taken

 

[Slaphppy7]

Point taken

You are not alone, don't beat yourself up over it...MANY of us have been down the same path

 

[AmyKieran]

Very sorry to be the person to tell you this about your fish but here we go:

The tank is way to small for those species of fish to thrive properly. They NEED to be in groups to spread out aggression, 20g is way too small to facilitate this. The water parameters also need to be very specific (high ph, gh and kh) which the store probably didn’t mention either. The best course of action is to rehome the fish and get fish for yuur setup

 

[gilpi]

They are (at least one of them is) African cichlids. I have the Bumble Bee as you do but along with 10 other carefully selected African cichlids and a larger tank. In captivity, these fish do best in a crowded or overstocked tank of their own kind and even then, you might run into some pecking issues. I hate to say your tank is not really suited for these fish and I'm sorry you got misguided on the tank size and fish. I'm not sure these types of fish are good for beginners anyway. Keep us posted on what direction you take regarding your new hobby.