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Within African Cichlids tanks there is always a hierarchy established. There will be one dominant male, a sub-dominant male and then the underlings. When your dominant male gets overly aggressive to the point of injuring or even killing a tank mate it's time to deal with him. I like to call it a "Time Out". Remove him from the community tank to an isolation tank. This will settle him down. Leave him alone for a few days, 3-4 days should make all the difference. When returning him to his community tank leave the lights off and slip him in. In the few days he was gone the sub-dominant male will more than likely have assumed his position in the tank displacing him. Losing his position he will have dropped in the pecking order. He should settle in and show far less aggression. This is a good way to keep peace in your tanks. Watch them closely and get a feel for the hierarchy. Some settle in and accept life as it is without a problem but as in our own lives sometimes we butt heads.
Mating males can also be too aggressive toward females. Some males are so intent on breeding, they won't leave the females alone. Even when they are already holding some males torment the poor girls. The best way to give everyone some peace is add a few more females to his harem to pick up the slack giving the other females a break.
Another way to deal with aggression as a whole is by simply overstocking their tank. Some people don't like this idea as it does create a little more work in needing more frequent water changes and a stronger filter system that will be able the handle the increase in waste.
You may think your tank will be more peaceful with fewer fish but with African Cichlids, if you do not overstock your tank you will experience more aggression. The dominant male will have an easier time of tormenting the quieter fish but with more fish in the tank, the quieter fish can lose themselves in the crowd making the aggressive male less likely to find them.
When adding fish it is best to add them in groups at a time. If you add 1 at a time that fish will be targeted and will not last long. For the first few hours or even day, it's helpful to the new comers to leave the tank lights off so they can easily explore their new home without too much pestering. Cichlids are very curious and will inspect anything that is new to their community.
If possible try to choose fish that don't look the same as the ones you have as they will see each other as a threat and more than likely cause injury to each other. In a group of 10 fish you should try to keep your male female ratio down to 2 males - 8 females.
You will have the most success with your African Cichlids if you monitor their tank, keeping a close eye on aggression. Females can also be aggressive but not as likely. Overstock, increase your filtration system to accommodate the increase in fish and isolate or put your overly aggressive male in a "Time Out" and you will have a healthy happy community of Cichlids.
Mating males can also be too aggressive toward females. Some males are so intent on breeding, they won't leave the females alone. Even when they are already holding some males torment the poor girls. The best way to give everyone some peace is add a few more females to his harem to pick up the slack giving the other females a break.
Another way to deal with aggression as a whole is by simply overstocking their tank. Some people don't like this idea as it does create a little more work in needing more frequent water changes and a stronger filter system that will be able the handle the increase in waste.
You may think your tank will be more peaceful with fewer fish but with African Cichlids, if you do not overstock your tank you will experience more aggression. The dominant male will have an easier time of tormenting the quieter fish but with more fish in the tank, the quieter fish can lose themselves in the crowd making the aggressive male less likely to find them.
When adding fish it is best to add them in groups at a time. If you add 1 at a time that fish will be targeted and will not last long. For the first few hours or even day, it's helpful to the new comers to leave the tank lights off so they can easily explore their new home without too much pestering. Cichlids are very curious and will inspect anything that is new to their community.
If possible try to choose fish that don't look the same as the ones you have as they will see each other as a threat and more than likely cause injury to each other. In a group of 10 fish you should try to keep your male female ratio down to 2 males - 8 females.
You will have the most success with your African Cichlids if you monitor their tank, keeping a close eye on aggression. Females can also be aggressive but not as likely. Overstock, increase your filtration system to accommodate the increase in fish and isolate or put your overly aggressive male in a "Time Out" and you will have a healthy happy community of Cichlids.
