Killer Kenyi

[luminomics]

I just went to my lfs and bought a kenyi (Pseudotropheus lombardoi) that is about 3 inches long about the same size as the female that i have in the tank. right when I put him in the tank the female began tearing him to shreds. Once he was almost dead I had a chance to get him into a large net (about 10 inches) which I am now leaving him in at the top of the tank. The Female was well established in the tank and tore off most of his fins. When can I release him back into the tank or can I? the tank is 55 gallons and I also got two pandani (pseudotropheus socolofi) while I was at the store which are substantially smaller then the other and they are getting along fine with the other fish so why him?

[kay-bee]

What is the total number of mbuna in there (just the 4 including the beaten male?).

Kenyi are a very aggressive mbuna species. Also, established dominant mbuna, especially those which have had the tank to themselves, have a significant 'home' advantage. The reason why she's attempting to eliminate the new kenyi and not the other fish (at this time) is probably due to a number of factors:

She's probably leaving the socolofi alone because they are smaller and thus considered non-threats, and she views the larger kenyi as the primary 'intruder' due to his size. Also, kenyi aggression against its own species often takes priority over aggression directed toward other species.

Finally, (unless I'm mistaken) the new kenyi is the only other kenyi in the tank and with all of the aforementioned factors in place pretty much designates the male as the sole recipient of her aggression. Were you to return him to the tank she'd probably kill him.

The solution may possibly be to return him to the tank simultaneously with 2-3 additional new female kenyi (or with a minimum of 4-5 additional mbuna). Greater numbers provide additional 'targets' which may help in reducing the quantity of aggression each fish receives (your tank can support a total of 8-15 mbuna if not more). I recommended the additional female kenyi's because the established female will probably direct her attention towards them as well (and not just the male, thus reducing overall aggression). In time the male, after recuperation, has the potential of actually becoming the dominant in the tank, in which case multiple females will come in handy when he becomes the aggressor.

[Visualeyes2]

great response kay-bee. i agree with every one of your points. i can only think of one other thing that i will add to consider in this situation that may help: when adding new fish to an african tank it sometimes helps to shift territories in the tank so everyone is on "new ground" once the new fish arrive. in other words, the kenyi probably has a favorite spot it is defending in the tank, and when the new kenyi came along, the established kenyi was not about to give up that spot....to the death.....if you, as the fish keeper, move the rocks around and shift everything in the tank right as you put the new fish in, every fish in the tank starts on a more level playing field. although this sometimes helps, there are times when it doesn't help as much as others, so keep a close eye on your new kenyi and protect it. if you have another tank you can put the new kenyi in temporarily while it recovers i would highly recommend doing that. once it recovers, then restock with additional mbunas, and shift territories simultaneously. and like i said, i agree whole heartedly with kay-bee's points, including the one that suggests getting additional kenyi.....if you don't have another tank you can put the new kenyi in temporarily, i'd get those additional fish ASAP.....be careful, protect that new Kenyi, and good luck!

[MbunaFishKeeper]

:iagree: when i add new mbunas i always move the rocks around whilst cleaning the tank before buying the fish.

[DeputyChiefJR]

I agree, Kenyii, on average, are probably one of the most aggressive African species out there....They may also not care about a certain fish for months and then suddenly start tormenting it...Then just as quickly leave it alone...They kinda are wild cards at times....

[magakitty]

one of the tricks we use when reintroducing a fish that has gotten very beat up is, once they have been nursed back to health in the QT, we put them in a breeder net in the main tank for several days, until the other fish pretty much ignore him. then we either feed the rest of the tank on one end, and release the "victim" on the other end, way down at the bottom, or we wait until the lights have been off an hour or two and release him in the bottom of the tank. this has worked great for us. we had a demasoni that got beaten almost to death and after using this method he was well accepted and has had no further problems in the tank.

And we do have Kenyii, and a few other very aggressive fish

[Coler]

I agree with the responses above.

I think you need to get some more mbuna in there (presuming you have listed all fish in the tank). With that few fish they will claim large (relative to the tank) territories and be very intolerant of intruders. More fish creates a sort of unstable stability, so to speak, where no one fish either becomes hyper dominant, or is the butt of everyones aggression.

[magakitty]

Our Brichardi (Lyretails) are the most territorial and have claimed the largest territory in the tank, and it doesn't seem to matter how we rearrange things, they still claim the same end of the tank

[Rbishop]

More fishies...always a good choice!

[magakitty]

We have our Rift Lake tank heavily stocked, because it helps keep the aggression down - also, adding several fish at a time also helps keep the aggression on the new fish spread out so no one fish is severly picked on