Adding new fish

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Nikki J

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Apr 5, 2006
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boston, ma
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I have Mbuna cichlids, in a 60 gallon tank and adding new fish has always been difficult. Last night I purchased a new female auratus and a livingston. The female auratus is bigger than the one I have now, and the livingston would have been the biggest fish in my tank. I took all the necessary steps, changed the rockwork etc. Almost immediately the two new fish were being attacked by the others. When I woke up this morning, I found the Livingston dead under a rock and some of the fish were eating him. And right now, the auratus is still alive, but she is so stressed out, she is very near death. I have moved her to the hospital tank, but I don't think she is going to make it. So my question is, does anyone have any tips to adding a new fish? I have been told that once your fish are at a certain point, adding new fish is pretty impossible, given the aggressiveness of the fish that are already established in the tank. Is there anything I can do to help the survival of a new fish if I decide to add another? Or should i not add any more fish to this tank?
Thank you.
 
I'm not sure what your current stock in the tank is, but you may not need to add anymore fish. I would not add the livingstoni... they get big and are very aggressive. Too big for a 60 gallon tank.

Re-arranging the rockwork helps. And I mean, big-time re-arranging. Take everything out and put it back in in a new spot. But if you dont have much rockwork this might not help. Also, add the new fish at night when the lights are off.

Another thing that might work, but is a pain in the butt, is to remove ALL the fish from the tank. Put them in a large bucket with airation + flow. Add the new fish to the tank, wait a couple hours, and then add the old fish back in. This might jostle them up a bit and give the two new fish a chance to claim some territory.

-Diana
 
What fish are currently in the tank? I don't think the livingstoni is a good fit for that tank. And it's actually a hap, not a mbuna. They get huge!

What I do when introducing new fish is take out all the rocks in the tank and turn off the lights. They just swim around so confused not knowing where to go, they don't seem to bother the new guests at all. This works for me. Then, after they calm down after several hours, I put the rocks back in. But I put them in differently than they were before.

But, when dealing with mbuna, there are no guarantees!
 
We've had our Livingston for about a year with no problems. That's why we thought adding another would be okay. Actually, the livingston is the least aggressive in the tank, and the other fish leave him alone. He never gets chased, never gets bothered.
Currently I have:
2 Melanochromis auratus - one male and one female
1 Pseudotropheus crabro
1 Nimbochromis Livingstonii
1 Metriaclima estherae (red)
4 pseudotropheus sp. Elongatus Ornatus
1 Metriaclima estherae (O)
1 Catfish (forgot the name)

Luv, that is an excellent idea about the bucket. I am going to try that most definetely. But you don't think that will stress the fish out too much?
I did turn the lights off while adding the new fish, but it didn't help. They were still as aggressive, if not more. I also tried to deflect the fish from the new ones by adding lettuce in the tank. That didn't work either.
 
Hmmm. I have a few mbuna and I never had any trouble introducing the new fish. I even put them in with the lights on and didn't move anything. Then again I dont have any Pseudotropheus Elongatus Ornatus either which I've heard can be brutal. Arent they suggested to be kept mostly species only? I love the way they look but thats why I havn't put one in my tank.
 
Any ideas of which were the worst aggressors?
 
My Pseudotropheus Elongatus do tend to stick together, but they are not that aggressive. The biggest of the four is the most aggressive, but only to the other Pseudotropheus Elongatus'. They get along with the other fish fine.

Deputy, my most aggressive fish is definetely the Auratus'. The male AND female are equally aggressive, I think. And my Pseudotropheus crabro is pretty aggressive as well, but only when new fish are introduced. But she is a female, and I heard that the males can be one of the most aggressive of that species.
 
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