tropheus aggression

Does anyone who keeps tropheus know if they are the most aggressive african cichlid? Everytime I have one, it seems to dominate the whole tank, no matter what size! Is there a way to kinda stop aggression? any tips?

ive got 3 i think, all in one tank with my other guys - turtle runs the show and all the fish team up vs him, they are nice to eachother so common enemy?

Gosu, you blow my mind with that turtle in your cichlid tank! seriously!

Hmm. I'm not too familiar with cichlids, but I can give you a few tips for aggression in general.

~ How big is your tank? Most aggressive fish do better in larger tanks. They will usually pick one part (instead of the whole tank in smaller tanks) to claim as their territory. Other fish learn pretty soon about safe spots to swim in!

~ Lots and lots of plants/decor. Give the others a ton of places to hide and get away.

~ Rearrange the tank and introduce the most aggressive fish last. If he's in there before others, he'll think they're invaders he needs to teach a lesson to! Take everyone out and change the setup a bit and introduce him last. More than likely he'll reduce his aggression and see everyone more as part of his environment. If you do introduce fish after him, distract him with food while you're doing so.

Hope these work out

sandnuka wrote:Does anyone who keeps tropheus know if they are the most aggressive african cichlid? Everytime I have one, it seems to dominate the whole tank, no matter what size! Is there a way to kinda stop aggression? any tips?

The real trick is to crowd the tank. They can be agressive, but a crowded tank has many aggressors and that seem to do the trick. Right now I have 30 red rainbows and 13 ikolas in a 110 gallon tank.

I prefer not to put other fishes in the tank, it will cause stress on the tropheus and they will bloat.

Ok, I have already tried everything you went threw ashley.... so today I went and got 12 more! ha ha! now my tank is so crowded the aggression seems to spread out allot... I have a 125g, and a 55g... btw.

Sounds like a deal haha! Hopefully everything comes out okay. Keep us updated

dude we need some pics
So you ended up getting 12 instead of 6

Nuka,
Over populate the tank, they are like my alunocara and with only a few (5) they destroyed eachother and aggression level was out the roof, all in a 80 gallon long, so I added 10 more cara's and with nowhere for the aggressive fish to claim territory too they stop fighting and yes I rearranged the tank to change up territories and create new spots... Everyone doing fine....Hard to take pic (Males Dark Red Female Lighter Pink) cause they are fast as heck...
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sidekicking wrote:dude we need some pics
So you ended up getting 12 instead of 6

yep yep, got 12.... they are absolutly gorgeous. Im gonna wait to put up a picture of them, so I can enter it in Junes photo of the month contest.... When people see these they wont be able to vote against me! The prize of junes POTM for june WILL BE MINE!