Will Blackbelt and Eyebiter work out?

S

Sumpin'fishy

Humble Disciple of Jesus Christ
Oct 16, 2002
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Savannah, GA
I really want to save a fish that I saw at a local "mom and pop" fishstore stuck in a 10 gallon tank. It's a Dimidiochromis Compressiceps (Malawi Eyebiter) and it's between 6" and 7". It is being harassed by a fully mature Auratus (mean) because he can't maneuver around enough to do anything to the other fish!

I have a 55 gallon in which I keep excellent water quality and house a 6" Blackbelt cichlid and 4 Silver Dollars. I have plenty of large pieces of limestone and other rock in it, with Silica sand for substrate. I can also exchange the rock with other pieces I already have, as needed.

I did some research and found out that they are not territorial except when breeding (not gonna happen!), and prefer to spend the majority of their time swimming in open water. My Blackbelt, on the other hand, prefers sticking close to the ground and only ventures up to eat and lightly harrass the Silver Dollars. My Silver Dollars are each about 3" or more in length and have very deep profiles (so they look pretty big). My Blackbelt is about a year and a half old and is almost an inch thick. The Eyebiter is not as thick or deep bodied, but is slightly longer (from my estimates) than the Blackbelt. I was just thinking about re-arranging my tank, anyways, so this would be a good time to do so. I can start all boundaries/territories over again and see what happens!

I know this isn't the ideal setup, but does it sound like it's worth a try? I've always wanted to get one of these fish, and I usually like to stick with fish from the same continents, but this fish looks great, is in desperate need of a home, and the store owner will give it to me for FREE, if I take it off her hands!!!

I'm going to quarantine it for a minimum of 2 to 4 weeks in a Tupperware tub (holds about 40 gallons empty) and then add it to the freshly redecorated 55 gal, if I take advantage of this opportunity. The question is: shoud I?

My water parameters are: pH-7.7, KH-5.4, GH 150ppm+. All other chemistry is ideal. I keep Nitrates below 10ppm at all times, and have an EMP 400 and a Magnum HOT Pro for filtration. Things are good for this tank, and it's been established for many months.

Any other input about this situation is appreciated.
 
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I did a brief search and here is what I think: Water parameters of course are fine but I would be nervous about the general body structure. The skinny head and neck of the Malawi would snap is the Vieja decides to lock. My Maculicauda is a pretty assertive fish, not aggressive just assertive. This is mine and I'm gonna tell you.
 
My Blackbelt is definately more "beefy" looking, but have you seen the mouths of the Eyebiters? They must be 4 times the size of comparable Veija species. They are narrow because they are made to be predators, the jawbone is roughly 1/3 of the total body length!!!:eek:
 
I'm gonna rephrase. This is mine and I'm gonna tell you was my fish talking.
IMO narrow is weak. It is specificaly and highly designed to be a hunter. To catch fish. Not to jaw wrestle like an American Cichlid will do.
 
Ahhhh.....now I see your point Scott! That's an interesting idea, that I have not heard mentioned before about mixing African and New World Cichlids. Thanks for explaining.

Anyone think there is a decent chance?
 
I dont think its a good mix. You shouldnt mix different cichlids from different areas...theyre movements are different and could lead to constant fights and a death of one of them.

I will tell you that my D. Compressiceps is super fast. usually he just hangs out and swims back and forth, but when I throw feeders in there, he usually gets the most and hes super quick. He is a great predator with a strong jaw bone and great predatory skills. Heres a picture of mine hunting for a juvy in my tank(the juvy got cut off cuz my cat got in the way)...
http://www.gladiator914.homestead.com/huntingcompressi1.jpg
 
I don't have either of these fish, but I don't think it's a good idea to mix american and africans because of the behavioural differences. Having said that, this isn't an mbuna, it's probably got less extreme behaviour.
It might work, but you need a plan for when the blackbelt gets larger. Also a 55 isn't a big tank for an active swimming compressiceps
 
I appreciate all the advice so far. You are all bringing up excellent points, too! Any others? (you can tell that I'm just itching to get him and try things out!)

The main thing is that I KNOW he's not going to survive long in the tank he's in at the LFS. He's in a 10 gallon with an Auratus (fully mature) who can out-maneuver him like crazy in that tank! The LFS owner doesn't have any other options for the fish at this point and she will give him to me for FREE, just for takiing him off her hands! I think he has better odds at a life in my tank than waiting around in that shop. The shop is really a small run-down mom-n-pop pet store, centered mostly around birds and such. I don't see anyone coming in looking for that kind of fish in that shop. The main fish shop for the whole city is not even 1 block away, and it takes most of the business by far!

I am definately hearing all of your points and you are all giving very sound advice, but I'm just having a hard time letting this one go by. Ever been there?
 
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