I have a cichlid problem being I have 3 african cichlids in my tank up until three days ago they all got along fine, I have had them for about 6 months, the last few days one of them is being picked on alot, the other two will not leave it along, nipping and biting at her fins. She doesnt appear to be eating at all. Please help
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- Thread starter tracy0726
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We can use more info, like tank size, what species of african cichlids, etc. Generally speaking, overstocking mbuna in larger tanks helps with aggression...with cichlids, past performance is no indicator of the future...they can go "postal" for seemingly no reason, although it could be related to maturing, pairing off, etc....and with fish, when they "smell blood", they all tend to get in the act...look forward to more info...
African Mbuna, which i'm assuming you have since they predominate in the hobby, are polygamous mouth brooders. this means that males try to mate with as many females as possible ... constantly. this spawning aggression can be extremely stressful on females. in the wild, large groups of Mbuna exist as single males with many females in a harem style ... thus, it's best to dilute this aggression in your tank by keeping a group of any one species as one male with 4 females.
these Mbuna are also very territorially aggressive and try to exclude others from the area they've staked out. you may have two males trying to spawn with a single female or a dominant male exhibiting territorial aggression on a sub-dominant male.
the smaller the tank, the more problems you will have. anything smaller than about 55 gallons is just too small to allow for (a) the necessary stocking numbers and ratio, and (b) sufficient rock work and caves for each male to establish his own territory.
these Mbuna are also very territorially aggressive and try to exclude others from the area they've staked out. you may have two males trying to spawn with a single female or a dominant male exhibiting territorial aggression on a sub-dominant male.
the smaller the tank, the more problems you will have. anything smaller than about 55 gallons is just too small to allow for (a) the necessary stocking numbers and ratio, and (b) sufficient rock work and caves for each male to establish his own territory.
Right now I have 15 gallon aquarium with quiet a few rocks and plants, (working on setting up my 100 gallon tank), I bought the cichlids as babies, and they are now about 6 months old. I am uncertain to type of cichlids they are, perhaps these pics may help they are not very good quality, the orange one is the one being attacked, any help would be appreciated, they are still very small yet, but are growing quicker than anticipated which is why I am moving to a larger tank as soon as it is ready. However the other two do not seem to be bother with each other
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The blue striped one looks like an auratus and the black/white striped one looks like a frontosa? Not sure about the yellow one. Im suprised the frontosa would be nipping at it seeing its bigger and frontosa's are usually pretty chill. Its most likely the size of your tank like you said. Cichlids aggressively defend their territory which is getting short in that 15 gallon. I would just move them as soon as you can into that bigger tank, you can also get more fish then. A 100 african cichlid tank will be quite impressive!
He is actually blue and black and white stripped the pic is bad, and the yellow is actually orange well was orange, I came home this evening to find her completely missing, just gone no sign of her what so ever! 
No remains at all I cant even begin to understand where she went to
No remains at all I cant even begin to understand where she went to
if you continue to manage these African cichlids in a 15 gallon tank, you'll end up with only one fish. please read my post again and consider returning those remaining cichlids in exchange for some other fish that CAN live in 15 gallons.