Keeping a Peaceful Cichlid Aquarium
If you have noticed that your African Cichlids are exerting aggression onto other members of the aquarium, you are not alone. Cichlids are well known for having an aggressive temperament by nature. At times they will chase the other fish till they are exhausted and are very quick to claim their own territory in the tank.
Have you noticed that some inhabitants of your tank are hiding in the upper areas of the aquarium, and seem to be swimming sideways? Unfortunately this normally indicates that the fish has been forced out of the communal tank by a more dominating and aggressive fish, and feels that it has nowhere left to go. Sadly these fish will die within a short period of time.
How can you save your other fish from this aggressive behavior?
There are two aspects to take into account when you are trying to control this aggressive Cichlid behavior. You must consider the amount of structure in the aquarium and the male to female ratio.
It is crucial that you provide adequete hiding area and structure in your aquarium, so that your Cichlids have enough opportunity to claim their own territory. If you don’t provide enough structured places, the other fish are likely to become the target of the aggressive and dominating male Cichlids. At the same time be careful not to fill your tank with so much strcuture that it becomes impossible to clean properly. This could lead to disease and toxic water.
A safe way to monitor this is to closely observe the behavior of the fish and start with just a few pieces of rock and wood in the tank. If you notice the Cichlids fightng for a place to dominate and make their own territory, you will need to add more pieces of structure to the aquarium.
It is also essential that you understand the male to female ratio in your aquarium. It is not unusual for the male Cichlids to chase the females, especially when they want to breed. If you have too few females in the tank, the poor fish will never get a break from the male and will become extremely stressed and exhausted. This will almost certainly lead to an early death.
A lot males in the tank will also cause them to become aggressive towards each other as they compete for the females attention. You can help avoid this problem by keeping no more than one male Cichlid to three female Cichlids in the aquarium.
An average size Cichlid will set you back at least $25 each. Therefor without proper know how of how to care for your Cichlids, it can become a very expensive hobby if you have to keep replacing them.. All the same, with the right knowledge, a successful breading program can prove to be very profitable.
Regardless of whether you decide to breed your Cichlids, keeping these fish can be a very rewarding and enjoyable experience.
Tags: Fish