Dealing With Aggressive Cichlid Fish

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Put a couple of cichlids into a tank and one of them will start to dominate. It is probably the first thing the cichlid beginner learns , Cichlids are aggressive. The tropical African Cichlid is an aggressive fish that has a long life span. Their aggression has done little to put enthusiasts off keeping them, they are favored for freshwater aquarium setups all around the world.

There are many reasons why cichlid fish display aggressive behavior and mannerisms. It can happen when another fish encroaches into their territory or tries to steal food or a potential mate. In such cases, a cichlid will show its aggression by flaring its gills and spreading its fins to make it look as large as possible. If the other fish isnt deterred yet, the fish may progress to mad tail beating which is a way a cichlid attempts to show its strength by pushing water at its rival in order to throw them off the fight.

This can and will escalate into a face-to-face combat, which includes mouth wrestling and lip locking and, finally, chasing each other in a circle and attempting to bite the other.

Keeping two males together may lead to a fight especially when they want to mate and this is similar to keeping incompatible species together.

Cichlid fish, especially the males can get aggressive if they are underfed.They are territorial and in some cases will fight till death. African Cichlids can be described as the most revered,if no misunderstood fish family in the hobby of keeping aquariums.

The violent nature of Cichlids; there are some very aggressive species of Cichlids but there are also the softer types which get along happy in a tank.

Aggressive Cichlids can be relatively kept in peace if provided with a proper environment because they do not fight due to their violent nature or manner, but rather due to a response of a perceived threat to their breeding or feeding territories.

The second misconception is that African Cichlids have to be given feeder fish to eat. The ideal diet is home or commercially prepared foods due to the selection of the ideal protein content.

Most Cichlids are not fish eaters (piscivores), but when they are present, they should be fed live food that is appropriately selected. To ensure that the food given to the fish is disease-free, some hobbyists maintain a breeding colony for their food source.