I fish are not getting along!

[cocoloco]

OK, my jewel cichlid is really tearing up my poor electric yellow lab. Does this mean that for sure they are both males? I think that I am going to have to separate them. Maybe I should take the jewel back to the pet shop. But he is so pretty. How can I tell for future reference if I am getting a male or a female. I would hate to have to keep returning my fish. Any info or comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Andrea

 

[JesseJ]

This would probibly be better of in the Cichlid forum but for most, not all, Africans the more colourful fish are male. With some species the males have egg flecks on their anal fins and with others the anal fin is shaped differently from male to female.

 

[The Inspector]

Get a good fish book and do a little research before you buy. Most fish books or sites about fish will give you a way to sex the fish, if there is one. Some fish are easier to sex than others, but if there is a way to tell by looking, that will usually be covered somewhere in a book or on a website.

 

[kenneth]

You might want to just give them some time. When i first put a johannis (sp?) in my tank, the 3 other fish hated him and chased him around. The next morning, the lower half of his rear fin was gone and his side fins had chunks missing. Now, about 3 weeks later, he rules the tank and has not even grown that much.

 

[PumaWard]

These two fish really are not compatible. Jewels are west african meaning that they come from similiar water to central/southern american cichlids like convicts, soft-acidic to slightly hard, alkaline water. Labs come from Lake Malawi in africa, they require hard, alkaline water.

Temperment and size also make them incompatible. Jewels get 6-7'' and have similiar temperments to convicts (very nasty), Labs get around 4'' and are fairly peaceful... maybe semi-aggressive at best.


You didn't mention tank size, temperature and water conditions (need to know values of pH, ammonia, and nitrite). If you don't have your own test kit, your LFS will test your water for you.

HTH

 

[cpn_aaron]

You need a bigger tank than the 5 gal you had posted about earlier when the algea eater was attacked. A 10 gal would give them more space for now. Plus you can probably use the filter from your 5 in the 10 gal, and 10 gal aquariums are a dime a dozen. Also putting broken bricks or other clean rocks in the tank will create several reef structures they can hide in and make their own territories. They may be fighting over space because you only have one premo territory in the tank. Having a special place to call their own usually eases tensions some. You can put up a tank divider for now if you need an immediate cure while the yellow lab heals. Jewel cichlids are mean. You can buy tank dividers from the LFS, or you can make one with a little ingenuity. I've used plastic dividers for binders with small holes punched in it to allow circulation of water. This allowed me to cut it custom fit for my aquarium. I just held it in place with some strong adhesive tape.

 

[cocoloco]

Thanks for all of the great ideas.

OK, I am ready to purchase a larger tank. I have seen a nice 40g set up at my local fish shop. It is a Jebbo? Or a maybe a Jebco? I can't remember which one it is. Anyway, I have never heard of this brand, and cannot find anything online about it. Anyone ever heard of it?
Thanks,
Andrea