peanut2110 Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Hi everyone, well the Baenschi has become a real bully in the last couple of weeks. He is now the same size as the Maleri and is hassling this poor fish so that he is living permanently around the powerhead now. He is also chasing the chilumba a bit when he can't get asscess to the Maleri. I have removed a lot of the rocks so that there are no caves to defend but so far this doesn't appear to be helping the situation. I am wondering if the problem is too few fish which is why the hassling is taking place. The tank is 170 litres 800 long x 400 wide x 550 high it has an built in overhead filter and I also run a 2213 cannister filter. The only fish in there at present are the Baenschi, the Maleri (both about 10cm long) a chilumba (about 6-7cm long) 2 x electras (about 6-7cm long also) and a CAE (juvenile). I have been reading about dither fish ie giant danios and Oz rainbowfish. Do you think they would help? Otherwise I could try and find 2-3 more peacocks to add - or would that be too much for the tank to handle? I would rather not re-home any of the fish unless it becomes essential but obviously the situation can't continue as it is as life for the maleri is becoming miserable. Your helpful suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks! :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew129 Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 your tank is not big enough for those fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanut2110 Posted October 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Really? I was told it would be fine but that I would need to get a bigger tank if I wanted any more fish (which I do). I have a 1.5m long 400ltr tank waiting in storage for them - the plan was to move them into this when we move into the new house as we are having a special bench made for it in the kitchen. I was then planning on adding more fish. If I were to move them into the bigger tank sooner, do you think that would help ease the aggression? Is it because the tank is too small that the baenschi is being a nuisance? Hmmmmm what to do?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 A bigger tank certainly won't hurt the situation. What have you got to loose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Peacock males will chase each other if similar. I have seen the same problems in 4x2x2 display tank in a lfs. Its a case of mix & match. Sometimes fish just don't get along. All the male is doing is getting rid of the competition, incase a female comes by. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Yeah your tank is probably on the small side, as Frenchy said its trial and error, similar males will always have problems.. And adding more fish sometimes wont fix the problem, because if he only had a problem with that one male he will still continue to smash it.. But it would be somewhere to start, bearing in mind the size of your tank maybe chuck in some yellows or something like that, as I mentioned about if he is just targeting the maleri and not a brute it wont help. If that is the case the only thing that will help is adding more peacock males to give him targets and spread the aggression.. You could try sticking the male baenshi in a breeding net or "naughty" tank for a few days hopefully letting his place in the tank drop a few rungs then stick him back in.. But I've done that and had the original aggressor get smashed.. If your planning to upgrade in the future why not divide the tank and separate the 2 fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 I agree that the tank is on the small side. Put some rocks back in to give even more defendable spaces- divide the space a bit. All that has happened now is that you've made only one territory albeit a big one. I'd also try adding another yellow male, either another Maleri Red or maybe another Baenschi to change the dynamics between those two fish as they are of similar colouration. Or get a new tank leader, something with less of an Agenda that will intervene- a bigger Hap maybe, I think they are necessary in a male peacock tank. Has the chilumba colured up with the others bickering- he should be quite a bit more timid than other two, probably is saving him from worse abuse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanut2110 Posted October 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Thanks for all your comments. The chilumba is starting to colour up a bit but he tends to get out of the way if he sees the baenschi coming so is usually left alone. Whether he will colour up fully with the baenshi around I don't know. The maleri was the leader until the baenschi got bigger and then he challenged him and won. The maleri is looking a little ragged around the edges if you know what I mean as the baenshi has obviously been nipping him a bit too. He is still eating though so I guess that's a good sign. With the bigger tank, I did have the same idea that Ryan suggested and was thinking of dividing it in two but then I thought I could also put in more fish and that would possibly help the victim(s) to get lost in the crowd. I have an O. Lithobates growing up with a friend in Akld and also some baby dragonblood peacocks. I want to be sure I only put boys in the tank so until they are sexable, I will leave them out. My friend tells me the O. Lithobates is a bit on the stroppy side, so maybe he would help change the dynamics? I realise with these fish, perfect peace is never likely to be achieved but I would like to ensure no one fish is badly hassled on a continuous basis. I will try putting the rocks back in and dividing the territories up more - the baenschi has got worse since I took them out (which I only did yesterday). The rocks were all in a pile together before so I will make two or three separate clumps. Re the comment about adding another yellow male, I thought this was an absolute no-no in the all male tank as the two most like eachother would fight all the time? I'm willing to give anything a go if it is likely to help the situation but I don't want to risk having to re-house a bunch of fish if the experiment fails. Here in Kerikeri it is very hard to find homes for cichlids! Thanks for all your suggestions and if you have any more, keep them coming! I will let you know how I get on with the re-arranged rock configuration... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 I was actually meaning to divide the smaller tank until you can get the bigger tank up and running and add more fish.. I have smaller tanks divided with pairs or trios of peacocks on each side and it works out alright, you cut the glass maybe 5mm narrower than the tank and then get a length of garden hose split it stick that all around the edges, make sure your inlet and outlet of your filter is on either side of the division and you will still get heated/filtered water flowing around the division through the gravel etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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