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Hey all! I hope you're having a great weekend. I'm writing this to share with you all a story of civil war in my 210g tank that has since ended. It was one of the most fascinating things ive ever seen in 8 years of keeping fish.
The boss of my 210g since its formation last year is my Blood Parrot, Rose. Rose was a pretty good tank boss by cichlid standards. She was a jerk to the 2nds in command - my Gold Severum pair - but this past week, her rule came to an end.
Lurking in the shadows for months has been my Oscar, George. George has exploded in size since joining the tank in February, and he is now the biggest fish. During his growth spurt, my Severum pair was always respectful to him despite being way bigger than him at the time. Rose, however, was not, and wanted George to know his presence wasn't wanted anymore.
Last week, George decided he was now big enough to take the top spot. He and Rose locked lips. No crazy nipping or damage, just a duel of dominance between the two biggest fish. I was observing to make sure it didn't go too far - and then something crazy happened. My sweet gold severum pair intervened after about 5 minutes of watching the spar. They backed George up and the three fish attacked Rose at once. These Severums have always bowed down to Rose in the past, and now they were helping George put her in her place.
The trio won, and now George is the new king, with the Severums always being by his side and sleeping with him at night. George has been a much kinder King than Rose was a Queen thus far. The trio rules with peace. The change appeared to be for the better.
Rose has since moved to a new tank, not because she was getting bullied (she submitted for good after the fight), but because I have a new tank she's better suited for.
I hope you all found this as interesting as I did. Cichlids are a pain in the butt, but moments like this are what make them so interesting to me. The bully got put in her place by her former victims, and now the entire culture of the tank is different. Never a dull moment.
The boss of my 210g since its formation last year is my Blood Parrot, Rose. Rose was a pretty good tank boss by cichlid standards. She was a jerk to the 2nds in command - my Gold Severum pair - but this past week, her rule came to an end.
Lurking in the shadows for months has been my Oscar, George. George has exploded in size since joining the tank in February, and he is now the biggest fish. During his growth spurt, my Severum pair was always respectful to him despite being way bigger than him at the time. Rose, however, was not, and wanted George to know his presence wasn't wanted anymore.
Last week, George decided he was now big enough to take the top spot. He and Rose locked lips. No crazy nipping or damage, just a duel of dominance between the two biggest fish. I was observing to make sure it didn't go too far - and then something crazy happened. My sweet gold severum pair intervened after about 5 minutes of watching the spar. They backed George up and the three fish attacked Rose at once. These Severums have always bowed down to Rose in the past, and now they were helping George put her in her place.
The trio won, and now George is the new king, with the Severums always being by his side and sleeping with him at night. George has been a much kinder King than Rose was a Queen thus far. The trio rules with peace. The change appeared to be for the better.
Rose has since moved to a new tank, not because she was getting bullied (she submitted for good after the fight), but because I have a new tank she's better suited for.
I hope you all found this as interesting as I did. Cichlids are a pain in the butt, but moments like this are what make them so interesting to me. The bully got put in her place by her former victims, and now the entire culture of the tank is different. Never a dull moment.
