african cichlids being bullies

[Hammy & Waf]

we have a 29 gallon tank with 5 african cichlids, i believe tey are as follows

Melanochromis auratus
2 Melanochromis johannii
Yellow Labidochromis
Albino Psuedotropheus socolofi

now the albino one was purchased last and was purchased pregnant, at first it was all good, then i had a terrible ammonia and nitrate spike, but that is now taken care of (results of an uncared for undergravel filter). now the fish are active, the parameters are good, but when the fish were going through the spike the albino one was severely nipped at, now she is swimming around more, but mostly hangs at the top. they still nip and poke at her. what should i do? i have other available tanks if needed.

[MiramichiMob]

Well, for starters I think that a 29 gallon is too small for for African cichlids, especially 5. I would recommend using one of your other tanks if it is larger. Most people suggest a 55 minimum for Africans. Also in my experience, fish hanging around the top is not always a good sigh. Does it appear to be gasping for air? If your other tanks are not large ones, maybe move the albino and see if your 29 goes back to peaceful.

[cav]

we have a 29 gallon tank with 5 african cichlids, i believe tey are as follows

Melanochromis auratus
2 Melanochromis johannii
Yellow Labidochromis
Albino Psuedotropheus socolofi

now the albino one was purchased last and was purchased pregnant, at first it was all good, then i had a terrible ammonia and nitrate spike, but that is now taken care of (results of an uncared for undergravel filter). now the fish are active, the parameters are good, but when the fish were going through the spike the albino one was severely nipped at, now she is swimming around more, but mostly hangs at the top. they still nip and poke at her. what should i do? i have other available tanks if needed.

You can prob kiss goodbye to the albino and possibly the yellow lab at some point due to having Melanochromis in there, which by the way will get way to big for the tank they are in. The chances are the 2 johannii will start fighting soon. I have 3 Melanochromis (joanjohnsonae/auratus(male)/johannii) which due to being a 50 gallon and in with 11 other fish tend not to be as aggressive although I did introduce an albino auratus which lasted a good few months but unfortunately died 2 days ago from harrasment.

[tarheels910]

Okay. The 29 is way too small. Do some research before you buy fish. This is the main reason you are having problems. Go look for a 55 gallon or larger.

Africans do not get pregnant. They are mouthbrooders. :duh:

[Hammy & Waf]

the fish is not gasping for air, it just hangs out at the top (we have a large flake plant that goes to the top, that's where she hangs out). i did not buy the fish, we took them from a friend, which is why i'm trying to figure out what to do. i know the eggs are in their mouth, but i can still call it pregnant. anyways, i could move them into a 40 breeder, but that is the biggest i have available.

[MiramichiMob]

The 40 sounds better than the 29. Try moving them, and see how they make out. Maybe keep the albino in the 29 to save it from getting picked on.
Don't

[MiramichiMob]

Sorry,

[MiramichiMob]

It posted on me twice, for some reason. What i was trying to say is don't be offended by people's commments. Some times it comes out rude or may appear they are being harsh, but some people get really upset when people do things improperly. Just ask for help and people here will be glad to give it. Let us know how you make out.

[tarheels910]

Dont save the babies. They are hybrids.

[Hammy & Waf]

if i move them into the 40g should i just keep the 5 i have?

[kay-bee]

Hard to say.

It's an undersized tank but the cichlids will fare better in larger groups. If the aggression gets worse you may need to add more (and if that is the case add 4 at a time to diffuse any aggressive behavior aimed at the newcomers, which is likely; you coul probably double the quantity, if you had a 55gal 10-15 would be a good sized group). However if the 40gal works with the fish you have keep the quantity where it is.

[drdud]

How big are your fish? I started my Africans in a 29 gal, but made sure they were juvies (<2"). I had a very similar mix. They grew faster than expected, so I had to get the planned 55 gal after about 6 months. Added a few fish to bring the total to 11. Everyone said to use lots of rock to breakup the line of sight. I get lots of short bursts of chasing, but rarely any contact almost never catch a 'lip lock fight'. I think the abundance of rock really seems to help.

One of my most aggressive fish is the auratus. I am glad I took everyone's advice and did not include another as part of my increase in stock. The advice was to overstock to keep the aggression distributed to many and not isolated to one.

As far as the fish staying at the top, my female yellow lab did that a lot when she was in the 29 gal, especially the first time she carried eggs. I noticed that all of them hung near the top for about a week after I moved them to the 55 gal. I thought it was from the stress of the net. They settled down and seem to be doing fine now. I have had them in the 55-gal for about 3 months and love it. Of course, they continue to grow, so I anticipate needing a larger tank. This will absolutely be true if they continue to breed. (I have two 3/4" yellow labs and about eight newborn Melanochromis johanni fry that are < 1/4")

Just thought I would share. I am very new to Africans and have been keeping fish for about 3 years, therefore I still consider myself a newbie and hesitate about giving any advice.

[Hammy & Waf]

the fish are about 2 maybe 2.5". i came up with an idea to do a whole cave system with pvc pipes and rocks stacked on top with the whole thing epoxied together, what do you think? if the albino one does have babies, do i have to move them to a new tank or do i leave everyhing as it is? will keep everyone updated on the move into the 40. your guys information has been extremely helpful, thank you.

[Brian Bivens]

Africans do not get pregnant. They are mouthbrooders.

Not all Africans are mouthbrooders, but there aren't any live bearers that I know of so pregnancy isn't an issue... If the fish is really bloated, it could be a swim bladder problem, or dropsy.... .

[tarheels910]

Not all Africans are mouthbrooders, but there aren't any live bearers that I know of so pregnancy isn't an issue... If the fish is really bloated, it could be a swim bladder problem, or dropsy.... .

The only non-mouthbrooding african cichlids are Riverines and Madagascars. They dont count as Malawi. :duh:

[kay-bee]

The only non-mouthbrooding african cichlids are Riverines and Madagascars. They dont count as Malawi. :duh:

Not quite accurate since there are african cichlids from the rift lakes which are substrate or cave spawners (such as many of the Lake Tanganyikans, i.e., the altolamprologus and neolamprologus species among others).

[drdud]

I tried to catch momma johanni to move her and the upcoming fry to a QT. WOW. All I did was tear up my tank, stress all the fish (and me) and cause momma to spit out a few fry which were quickly consumed by the stressed fish. I gave up, told momma that I tried to save her and her babies and moved on. Now I see all the fry staying hidden and think that the strong will survive as it should be. I have given them the best environment that I can. I would recommend letting nature take it's course. I am not a breeder in it for profit, so why should I stress me and the fish.

[drdud]

Be careful!!!! I tried to make a cave by coating PVC with silicone and sticking gravel to it. Used the wrong adhesive and wiped out a tank. Now I am kind of gun shy. Natural rock makes wonderful caves. If I feel creative again, I may try my hand at carving lava rock. If I were to try adhesive, I would pay the money to get aquarium silicone to minimize the risk.