View Full Version : Jaguire cichlid getting beat on, any suggestions....
Wow, I noticed at feeding time tonight, my black shark(13 inches) was smacking my jag(10inches) around so hard, I could actually hear the impact of fish on fish standing back 3 feet from the tank. Im not happy about this as they are probably my 2 fav fish. People talk about cichlid agression, geeze, black sharks really have a chip on their shoulder. Beats on everything in my tank.
AquariumNoob13
12-08-2007, 1:14 AM
wow. i've never heard of a jag getting beat on. hehehe. but then again, i don't know much about american cichlids.
wow. i've never heard of a jag getting beat on. hehehe. but then again, i don't know much about american cichlids.
Well the shark chases my africans all over too but they are smaller and can hide more effectively from him.
AquariumNoob13
12-08-2007, 1:24 AM
u are keeping americans and africans together? i strongly advise against that from my own experience with an even less agressive american cichlid. do u have lots of tight places and caves for the africans to hide?
u are keeping americans and africans together? i strongly advise against that from my own experience with an even less agressive american cichlid. do u have lots of tight places and caves for the africans to hide?
There are lots of caves for the africans, these fish have been togeather in a 125g tank for years, the shark is the only one who picks fights.
fish list:
African Cichlids:--CA/SA Cichlids--Other
Jewel------------Red Devil--------Black Shark
Yellow Lab-------Green Terror-----RTBS
Red Zebra--------Dempsey--------Leperinus
Albino Zebra------Jaguire----------CAE
Cobalt blue
Alot of people dont like mixing cichlids, Ive had great luck with it but mixing cichlids isnt my problem, the shark is.
AquariumNoob13
12-08-2007, 1:47 AM
psh. nice assortment you got their. do you only have 1 yellow lab? i suppose that in a big enough tank with enough caves the africans and americans could live harmoniously, but with only 1 yellow lab, i'm suprised it has survived.
psh. nice assortment you got their. do you only have 1 yellow lab? i suppose that in a big enough tank with enough caves the africans and americans could live harmoniously, but with only 1 yellow lab, i'm suprised it has survived.
Yeah he is actually pretty big for a yellow lab, he does really well, he is the only lab in there, here's a couple pics of him:)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC01185-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC01113.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC01212.jpg
AquariumNoob13
12-08-2007, 1:54 AM
he looks awesome. my labs all have a black line down the middle of their side, but none have that black on their faces.
he looks awesome. my labs all have a black line down the middle of their side, but none have that black on their faces.
Thanx alot! I added one more pic for you above, its a pic of him with the JD, its a better quality pic than the other 2 I posted, they actually hang out quite a bit togeather.
AquariumNoob13
12-08-2007, 3:10 AM
ur JD is pretty small, even if the lab is big. i've always wondered, why are JD's green in petco but when you put them in tanks at home they get all sparkly?
tarheels910
12-08-2007, 9:18 AM
Yes, Sym has some "Manly" african cichlids. They get to eat american cichlid foods.
ur JD is pretty small, even if the lab is big. i've always wondered, why are JD's green in petco but when you put them in tanks at home they get all sparkly?
JD is bigger than that now, I just havent taken any recent pics to show:)
Broham
12-12-2007, 11:21 AM
well well well, i never thought it'd be possible to have fish that live in 7.0 and others at 8.2 to co exist in a tank for over 1 year let alone 2 and a shark to mix it all up. what an environment. Where are some mods to get in on this? id like to hear peoples opinion on this. I give u credit man for such a setup without the fish dying
CichlidFan04
12-13-2007, 2:51 PM
well, i dont think the ph really matters. if they are farm raised fish they all have the same ph.. im sure when raised the farms dont buffer up the ph just for africans. unless, they are breeding only africans then i supposed they would. I've kept africans for 3 years without ever buffing up the ph, i got tired of them and traded them to my lfs.
Brian Bivens
12-13-2007, 3:37 PM
That is one of the cool things about keeping fish. You don't have to mimmick their exact environment, and as long as you get the tankmates to play nice, it is cool to have different species together, that would never be together in the wild.
My father in law keeps mbuna and tanganyikan together in a 70 gallon tank without issue.
jagarundi
12-19-2007, 4:47 PM
The black shark in my tank does that alot with the Dempseys and the female green terror. The Oscars, however will have none of it and will usually ram him into submission when he calls himself bullying them.
well well well, i never thought it'd be possible to have fish that live in 7.0 and others at 8.2 to co exist in a tank for over 1 year let alone 2 and a shark to mix it all up. what an environment. Where are some mods to get in on this? id like to hear peoples opinion on this. I give u credit man for such a setup without the fish dying
Thank u! Probably the best advice I can give to get something like this working yourself is to start with a large central american like the devil Ive got. Some of the fish I added when the devil was small were the dempsey, the yellow lab, green terror, and red tail shark. All semi agressive but not really that nasty. After the devil reached maturity and pretty much became the dominant fish, I added the other more agressive africans and the leperinus. The thing about mbuna is that they are mean but not stupid. With the larger more dominant central americans in there, they dont act up at all. They behave very well. Ive had a VERY limited number of mbuna on mbuna violence but nothing else. After that I added the jag at about 5 inches, the only one i was worried about was the devil but he is so used to all the africans being about that size he didnt even hardly notice. Since then the jag has grown to his current size, devil still dosent bother him, and the there has been no violence or deaths or sickness of any kind. The leperinus and RTBS both being agressive fish do really well with the africans, they pretty much just keep to themselves, they are not picked on and dont pick on the other fish. The last fish I added was the black shark. He is probably the meanest fish Ive ever had. I put him in there about 8 months ago when he was a little smaller than the RTBS, probably 4 inches. He grew like he was some kind of science experiment, and his attitude grew to match. He is really a spectacular shark although he picks on the mbuna, the jag, the dempsey, the RTBS, and the GT, MOSTLY around feeding time or when he gets hungery he seems to get grumpy. The devil is really the only fish he dosent pick on, well that and the leperinus is ignored. But other than the shark, the community is the perfect example of african/american cichlids living in complete harmony! Here are a few more shots for those interested.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC01675-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC01524.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC01595.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC01168-1.jpg
Devil
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC01687.jpg
Here is an old pic of the jag, sorry I dont have anything recent:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC01604.jpg
MiramichiMob
12-20-2007, 5:18 PM
Very nice,,how about a full tanks shot.
Very nice,,how about a full tanks shot.
Sure you bet:) Sorry I dont have a recent one that shows the jag's current size, Ill try to get one tonight at feeding time when they all come out:)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC01584.jpg
Here ya go, just took some updated jag shots:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC02056.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC02074.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC02060.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC02065.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v453/phoenixsuns000/DSC02067.jpg
richos
12-23-2007, 1:17 AM
give the Jag time...it will get bigger...then it will eat any of the africans it can fit in its mouth then it will kill the shark then one day it will start to harrass the devil
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x312/RichOs69/01010252-1.jpg
give the Jag time...it will get bigger...then it will eat any of the africans it can fit in its mouth then it will kill the shark then one day it will start to harrass the devil
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x312/RichOs69/01010252-1.jpg
The only problem with that observation is that the shark reaches a max size of 8 inches beyond what a jag can grow to be so I highly doubt what you just said will come to pass. As far as the devilgoes, there has never and I mean ever been any agression between him and the jag so I doubt there will be a problem there either. The problem is the shark bullying the jag not the other way around. And since he already has a 4-5 inch head start on the jag on his way to 24 inches and the jag on his way to 16 inches max lengths, either you underestimate the agression of a black shark or you have no experience with them which is probably more likely, but the chances of the jag turning around and bullying a much larger and equally if not more ill tempered fish are unlikely at best.