i have a promblem. I bought 5 fairys for my 20 gallon long tank. the tank has plenty of rocks and caves. It seems that a male and a female have joined together in almost killing two of others, i had to move them to other tanks it got so bad. iam afraid that they will start to gang up on the other fairy. any ideas what to do? what could be causing this?
my fairy cichlids (brichardi) team up and kill
- Thread starter cburke
- Start date
I've never kept Brichardi's but I'm pretty sure a 20 gal is kinda small for 5 of them. Unless they are very small that is. How long have they been in there?
Theay are proably "hooking up" and trying to establish a territory in which to get down to the business o procreation. I think your tank is too samll for that, not absolutely sure but I think a 29g woudl be more appropriate for a pair of brichardi. Hopefully someone with more knowlege on these will post soon.
Typical brichardi, once they pair off they dont tolerate others unless its a huge tank with enough space.
You wont have any luck keeping others in a 20 gallon with them, so you might as well remove all but the dominant pair.
-Diana
You wont have any luck keeping others in a 20 gallon with them, so you might as well remove all but the dominant pair.
-Diana
Kribs is right. I had a somewhat similar experience when I first started with lake tangs a few months back. I'm no expert, but the general concensus is that a 20 gallon tank (preferably a 20 long) is enough for a pair of breeding brichardis, and nothing else. Once they start breeding, you'll have more than 5 in that tank and they should all live peacefully for a while, until the population gets too large. good luck.
They're somewhat particular about who they allow into their neighborhood. When nearing spawning time, they will become relentless in protecting their area, and they will in fact attack fish much larger than they. They will attack most of their friends as well, but often will choose one or two or even a few friends that will become part of the colony (built in babysitters). All others aren't tolerated. I have a breeding pair, and it's really interesting to watch them with their gang. They all go after other fish like a pack of wolves!
It sounds like you're going to have a bunch of new ones in a few weeks. Good luck! They're really awesome fish.
It sounds like you're going to have a bunch of new ones in a few weeks. Good luck! They're really awesome fish.