Jewel And Malawai Ok At The Moment

[smithz008]

I have had a turqoise jewel cichlid in my tank with my malawais for a few weeks now and it seems to have settled in quite well! my mate has made me worry because he thinks jewels are killers to malawais. They all seem ok in there, if anything the jewel gets pushed around by the others! will this be a prob in the future or has it been ok for other people? i have quite a young tank, some are only just over a month old, and dont want a futre problem arising!!

 

[dthoffsett]

While I haven't kept jewels, however, if the malawis you have are mbuna species (rock-dwelling cichlids), then most likely the jewel is going to be on the losing end once the mbuna reach sexual maturity.

While most mbuna get along as juveniles, their behavior often changes drastically once they reach sexual maturity, in many cases literally overnight.

Your outcome is also going to depend on your tank size and what species and numbers you are keeping. My first instinct though it to move your jewel to a different tank.

 

[james41683]

i've wondered about this too. i had a jewel in my "rescue tank" for awhile and he went on a killing spree. the rescue tank had alot of fish that was having trouble in some of my other tanks, or were attemped dither fish for my africans. i now have the jewel in my peacock/hap tank and they dont even notice each other. the cichlids range from 3" to 6" and the jewel is about 3".

 

[dthoffsett]

i've wondered about this too. i had a jewel in my "rescue tank" for awhile and he went on a killing spree. the rescue tank had alot of fish that was having trouble in some of my other tanks, or were attemped dither fish for my africans. i now have the jewel in my peacock/hap tank and they dont even notice each other. the cichlids range from 3" to 6" and the jewel is about 3".

I'm not too surprised the jewel is doing well with your peacocks and haps. Mbuna on the other hand, in most cases, have a much higher level of aggression(though there are quite a few larger aggressive haps). That's why I said it would depend on what species smithz is keeping.

 

[smithz008]

i have yellow labs, red zebras, golden mawalis, blue powders (i think) and im not too sure about the last one(its black with yellow tail and yellow dorsal fin). Ive spoke to the centre i got it from and they are happy for me to take back the jewel and get a replacement malawi. Id rather be safe than sorry! shame though he is well nice, might start my next tank with some jewels!

 

[dthoffsett]

i have yellow labs, red zebras, golden mawalis, blue powders (i think) and im not too sure about the last one(its black with yellow tail and yellow dorsal fin). Ive spoke to the centre i got it from and they are happy for me to take back the jewel and get a replacement malawi. Id rather be safe than sorry! shame though he is well nice, might start my next tank with some jewels!

It would probably be for the best to take the jewel back. If you post pics we can help ID the ones you're not sure on.