war in tank

[betta_boy]

Hi,
I have a 30 gallon tank with plenty of rocks, caves. I houses 2 zebras, 2 jewels, 2 firemouths. The male zebra is dominant and always picks on the other fish. However since yesterday my jewel fish does not back off. He has become bright golden yellow in colour and has a prominent red patch below his gills. They are at each other all the time and are often joined by their respective companions.
How can I put an end to this, I do not want either fish to get hurt. Isnt there some cichlid/fish who can have a calming influence on the tank. Please let me know ASAP.

 

[Ferris]

Almost bound to happen i'm afraid, P.Zebra's and Jewels are both extremely aggressive species and if either pair are male and female and start to spawn you will have chaos.

I hate to say it but the only answer may be to return the Zebra's. FM's and Jewels should work because the FM's will probably accept that the Jewels are dominant. Zebra's won't and the tank isn't big enough to support 2 large territories.

 

[Ferris]

Just to add.......I wouldn't keep any Mbuna species in that tank, they are too aggressive for FM's and IMO don't belong with Jewels.

 

[betta_boy]

thanks for the info. I shall get the zebras out of the tank. Can i replace the zebras with some rams or something else?

 

[Ferris]

Rams won't work with Jewels either, won't cope with the aggression. Keeping Jewels narrow's down your options, don't get me wrong, Jewels are great but they do limit your choice of tankmates.

I would probably add a couple of catfish, Bristlenose Plecs should be fine or one of the Synodontis species.

 

[freddyk]

Jewels go with jewels - they won't appreciate other cichlids in there.

Jewels are a riverine cichlid, not a Rift Lake cichlid. Their behavior is opposite of mbuna and other rift lake africans, and it only leads to bad things.

I'm sure the Jewel and Firemouths will give you problems together eventually, most likely.

 

[AllusiveLife]

get 2 Convicts

 

[Ferris]

get 2 Convicts

I hope thats a joke, a pair of convicts in that size tank would wipe out the Jewels and the FM's.

 

[betta_boy]

I have got the zebras out of the tank. What species/size of catfish should I add in the tank such that they are not harmed by the jewels (they are 1.5'') and they dont grow too big for the tank 30g

 

[Ferris]

I have 2 Synodontis Eupterus in my Mbuna tank and they do fine, a couple in your 30gal would work. Bristlenose Plecs should also be fine.

 

[betta_boy]

I have 2 Synodontis Eupterus in my Mbuna tank and they do fine, a couple in your 30gal would work. Bristlenose Plecs should also be fine.

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Ferris thank you for your prompt replies. I have another query. Can a oscar stand up to a convict of similar size?
In terms of agression how would you rank oscars, convicts, green terror, mbunas, jewels?

 

[gixer]

you could be lucky.. but IME 2 synodontis eupterus wont do too well in a 30g
they very rarely tollerate their own kind, especially in such a small tank. not sying this is gospel or anything as ferris obviously has no problems...just my experience with them

 

[Ferris]

An Oscar can certainly cope with a convict of a similar size but will eventually grow much bigger. Min tank size for an oscar is 75 gal though. An Oscar and a convict could be kept together singularly, pairs would not work as they would become too aggressive. Again bare min tank size would be 75 gal.

Mbuna should only be kept in a species tank and certainly not mixed with new world or other african cichlids. Got to be honest i have no experience with green terrors so maybe someone else will help you out there.