# African Cichlids. Grr!



## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

I don't know if this is a question or just a vent lol. I have an acai and a domasoni cichlid and I think I totally misjudged their personalities in the store. I totally thought the damasoni was a sweet fish and very personable and the acai I thought would turn out very pretty(which he is). Seemed like two fish suited to be together in a tank. WRONG! I think now that they are housed together I realise the damasoni wasn't being "cute" with me he was approaching me to defend his territory. A human?!?? Do they actually defend against something so big?? These are some weird fish and it's sooooo complicated to keep them. I really want this to workout but they are constantly trying claim tank territory. I haven't had them even a week yet so maybe they'll sort it out. Or maybe I need to overstock to spread the agression but gah!! so much thought going into a "simple" tank.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Heh... cichlids. Cichlids and Gouramis are one of the most wonky fish ever. -.-; "semi aggressive" and "non aggressive" versions usually end up aggressive. Though, if the tank is big enough they should be fine. I am looking after three darn cichlids. One is a big boy, mean as can be. One is a pink fella, wimpy as can be. The third is a small grey, who is half way between mean and nice. The owner had them in a 38 TALL and they got sick, after being so mean and jumpy. Currently they are in my 30 gallon (I want it back ;( ) because I feel they needed the longer space.
And they are getting better (columnaris....), pinky has to be medicated some more directly with malachite green... But it has not spread! The tank size may have dropped, but the space they gained back was better.

Awesome thing about cichlids: I learned they rarely leave 10-12 inches above gravel/bottom. Long tanks, are AWESOME. Not sure if you can find one in your area, as they can sometimes be hard to find. But you know what? They are worth hunting for. 

Also tons of decor!! Soft, decor. They like to tear stuff up (sigh...) and they also tend to ram into things :roll:

The bigger the space, the better they behave ;p

But it is a good thing you see his behavior. Because it is better than him hiding all the time!!!


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Sena Hansler said:


> Heh... cichlids. Cichlids and Gouramis are one of the most wonky fish ever. -.-; "semi aggressive" and "non aggressive" versions usually end up aggressive. Though, if the tank is big enough they should be fine. I am looking after three darn cichlids. One is a big boy, mean as can be. One is a pink fella, wimpy as can be. The third is a small grey, who is half way between mean and nice. The owner had them in a 38 TALL and they got sick, after being so mean and jumpy. Currently they are in my 30 gallon (I want it back ;( ) because I feel they needed the longer space.
> And they are getting better (columnaris....), pinky has to be medicated some more directly with malachite green... But it has not spread! The tank size may have dropped, but the space they gained back was better.
> 
> Awesome thing about cichlids: I learned they rarely leave 10-12 inches above gravel/bottom. Long tanks, are AWESOME. Not sure if you can find one in your area, as they can sometimes be hard to find. But you know what? They are worth hunting for.
> ...


lol.. Thanks. Yes, I heard they like to uproot plants *sigh* MY one and only nonplanted tank. I didn't believe it till I got them. The demasoni likes to dig in the sand I've never seen fish act like them before it's fascinating but annoying. I don't have long tank yet as really I wasn't going to buy them a tank until I knew their behavior and needs first. They are babies so I feel the 20gallon is ok for now till I figure out who likes what and if they will be compatible in the long run. I at first put them in my 75 gallon while I was waiting for everything to look right in ttheir tank. They actually were fighting over one particluar cave looking decor in there. :roll:. I have a feeling at their size the gallans aren't the issue it's "Who get's the log and who gets the rock?" They seem to agree the Acai gets the top region but there are still squables over the log OMG what did I get myself into?


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Heh... Well, more space will be better. Try adding another similar cave... Take the fish out, rearrange absolutely everything, acclimate them back in, and see if that helps :lol: I try to add as much decor for them as possible so they can hide, claim, and feel more secure. Cichlids, to be honest to me they are such a pain :roll: :lol:


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

well. You were right! I just looked closer and I see they have been tearing up the silk plant haha. I am beggining to think they are the "bearded dragons of the lake" lol. I guess I shouldn't judge them too harshly now thinking of it like that. I guess all the decor that my dragon outgrew can get thrown in there. They basically are from the same environment but underwater and are just as picky and bratty.


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## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

Um, I'm no expert on cichlids, but I'm 99% positive 20 gallons os far too small for africans.

i also believe you're going to have some issues with your stock. Tazman, a mod, has a lot of experience with african cichlids, id highly recommend you ask him some questions.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

They did mention they are babies.

Though I forgot to mention, they do grow fast. The three I am looking after would do best in 50-100 gallons since the biggest is double the smaller one's size, already ate one before I got them... :roll: the bigger the better basically. The more suff to hide in the better too.


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

djembekah said:


> Um, I'm no expert on cichlids, but I'm 99% positive 20 gallons os far too small for africans.
> 
> i also believe you're going to have some issues with your stock. Tazman, a mod, has a lot of experience with african cichlids, id highly recommend you ask him some questions.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Oh I know! I plan a 50-60 gallon for them but I'm not going to rush into it as I am aware their needs aren't just gallons but the kind of space they get. I am 90% ceertain the 2 I have are both Malawi rock/ sand dwellers and their diet should be the same so in that aspect what I have should be fine. It's personality matching that sucks. But I understand every African tank has a "tank boss". I have them perfectly size matched as babies but the acai will grow bigger. IDK they take waaay too much brain power lol :frustrated:


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I wonder what the the monster one is that I have respectively named "Bully" :roll:

*edit: He is a jack dempey. The interesting grumpy faced green speckled one... -.- I should really see the recommendations for these fish..


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

My older brother purchased this massive synspillum cichlid from a fish store. It was there because it had killed several fish, an oscar among them. 

That fish would attack you if you put your hand in its tank. It used to try and bite your hand if you were feeding it or doing water changes. Not in the sort of curious way of a betta, but in a sort of 'get the hell out of my territory' way. 

So yes, going a human is not out of the realm of possibility haha

Also, that synspillum liked arranging his own tank. He used to push rocks around and dig in the gravel to make holes and mounds. I think a lot of cichlids are into 'home decorating'.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I looked up the names of the fish: Convict cichlid, pink convict and the large jack dempsey. Idk that they were even compatible -.-


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

LittleBettaFish said:


> That fish would attack you if you put your hand in its tank. It used to try and bite your hand if you were feeding it or doing water changes. Not in the sort of curious way of a betta, but in a sort of 'get the hell out of my territory' way.
> 
> So yes, going a human is not out of the realm of possibility haha
> 
> Also, that synspillum liked arranging his own tank. He used to push rocks around and dig in the gravel to make holes and mounds. I think a lot of cichlids are into 'home decorating'.


Thats what I've figure. He will only grow to 4 inches max but he is not in the least bit intimidated by me. I wanted to test him so i put my face right up to "his corner" to see what he would do if he would ddo and he didn't back away he actually came right up to the glass...but it looked like he noticed the glass between us so decided biting wouldn't work.. lol However he did attack the vacuum as I cleaned out extra food. He was fine till he saw the food going up into it then he got pissed. And yes they both like to decorate their tank. My sand scaping was not how they wanted it and they are currently both very busy redoing it. The acai built an impressive 3 in tall mountain on the front right and the demasani cut ridges around the log and leading to his hole. I've put more rocks in there so I think there has been a little more peace settled but not 100%.


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Sena Hansler said:


> I looked up the names of the fish: Convict cichlid, pink convict and the large jack dempsey. Idk that they were even compatible -.-


I lucked out. I think you have to not only match by African or south american but also but body of water bred from and what not. Bananas! I have to double check but I think both of mine are from lake malawi and are herbivores. I didn't actually know their lakes until I got home with them


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

Correct on them both being from Lake Malawi.

Now, Demansoni, aggressive, territorial and yes will go after you, I had several and they would always go after my hand when I was python cleaning the tank.

Acei, nice, peaceful, usually enjoy swimming at the top of the water column.

Cichlids in general in the wild, live in a sandy, rocky bottom Lake Malawi, there are very few plants in the lake except where rivers join it.

As some have mentioned overstocking with good filtration is almost a must for cichlids, 55g being really the absolute minimum tank size at adulthood, this is for African Cichlids, some of the larger South American ones, 125g is minimum.

Rocks, rocks and more rocks, decorate the aquarium with yes rocks, or at least plenty of places to break up lines of sight so fishes can really see each other often. Part of the reason for a larger tank as this cannot be easily done in a smaller tank. 
The issue with them going after one another is they look very similar to each other in terms of color, cichlids dont like each other very much.

Keeping a harem of 1 male to 4 female on most species, spreads the aggression from a single fish to multiple fish, unfortunately though, the Demansoni given it is very aggressive is in the super harem group of 1 male to at least 6-8 females.
They can be kept together with acei although I would not recommend it even when small in anything less than a 40g breeder, once the fish are 1.5-2" (inches), they start showing their adult traits, namely for the aggressive ones being a PITA. This is when you can safely keep them together for a bit, anything above this size and you HAVE to remove them if there is too much aggression and lip locking otherwise you will have dead fish.

Once you get the bigger tank size, then if you still want to keep them, perhaps we can offer suggestions as to stocking.

@Sena Convict and JD are compatible together, although the convict will be eaten/ killed if they are way smaller than the JD. JD is one of the most aggressive cichlids available in the hobby.


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Thanks! Yes I plan to do 50-60 or 75 gallon tank depending on how easilly I can make a group of males and will it work at all. I obviously think I need to stick wih Mbuna males since their diet and size will be similar. Once at that size tank. I am thinking to get that ready in about a month. The Acei seem to yes be a top dweller and more peaceful however right now he seems to be passive aggresive but I assume this is due to now only having 1 tank mate but not exactly his kind. And also not an ideal tank size for 2 males. Even though they the same size the Acei doesn't want to fight the demosani so I am thinking they will be ok. Will When I get my larger tank I need to get like an array of Mbunas that are max 6 inches and no more demasani's ? I'm confused and stuck at this part. lol


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Wait!! No way!! Tazman you have yellow labs, Acei an rusty's in 1 tank??!! Yeee! This works I guess. Was this an easy group to build because those guys where all on my list of wants even before I knew about which lake could live with which lake??.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Jack Dempsey is the most aggressive... Great. Lol. I figured by his wide mouth as she had four in there and that small one had been eaten -.-; oh and the pleco (that's right. He killed the 8" pleco. Never ate it... Just killed it..) -.-; I'll stress a bigger tank to her.

Good luck on your cichlids!!! Maybe one day when I get an 80-100 gallon tank I'll set up a cichlid tank. BTW how do you tell genders?


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

Agent13 said:


> Wait!! No way!! Tazman you have yellow labs, Acei an rusty's in 1 tank??!! Yeee! This works I guess. Was this an easy group to build because those guys where all on my list of wants even before I knew about which lake could live with which lake??.


They are all very peaceful fish, I did this tank after running an all male peacock tank for 3 years which was a nightmare to keep happy but very colorful.

Generally in terms of compatibility, Lake Malawi fish will go well with Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika the water is extremely hard, even too hard for most Lake Malawi cichlids so they cant be mixed very well.

Never mix, the South American, New World or Central American Cichlids with Africans, they generally require totally different water parameters and unless you have an enormous tank, it doesnt work.


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