African Peacock Cichlids Eating Each Other

HI everyone

I just started my African Peacock Cichlid tank about 5 months ago. I only have a 20gal. but I have filtration in there for over 70gal. I know its small so I didn't want to get to many fish all at once so I started with 5. Here's the problem, it's been 5 months and my African Peacocks have been living peacefully. I check the water levels every other day which nothing ever changes its all in perfect balance and I do 5gal. water changes every week and a half or if needed. While I do that I change up the rocks so that they don't fight for hiding spots. They are all the same size and I got them all together. I feed them twice a day, one in the morning and once at night, to make sure they don't get aggressive for food. They get fed a frozen cube once a week but other than that they get fed Spectrum pellets. I shut the LED lights off at 9 every other day and 1030 the other days. I came back from work to find one of them was attacked and all torn up. I isolated him in a milk jug with holes so the water can flow out and the filter pointing into the top to keep the current flow inside the jug. He didn't make it through the night due to his injuries. This was about two days ago. I come back from class today and find another one dead with no fins and the body just torn to shreds near the filter. I assumed he was beaten up too since he was in perfect health when I left. I did an inspection of the tank and a third one has half of his caudal fin torn and he is trying to stay away from the other two. I isolated him in that milk jug until I figure out how to fix this problem. I noticed that their dorsal fins keep raising up when they are swimming near each other. I heard that they aren't super aggressive but I know they do fight sometimes. I just want to know why have they been fighting to the death when i'm gone and is there anything to do about it.

 

Welcome to fishlore!

While peacocks cichlids are less aggressive than other cichlids, they are still cichlids, and will show aggression. They need a much larger tank than a 20 gallon, and that's probably why you're seeing issues.

What are you water parameters, and what do you test with?

The best thing that you could do right now is upgrade to a larger tank, or find a different home for the fish.

Also, if you're able to, you'll want to set up a quarantine tank for the injured fish so that nobody will pick on him.

 

Hi,
As previous post has already stated
You really should be seriously considering a re-home for these fish, as the aggression will only continue and get worse as tank dominance is being established and the fish grow to adulthood
A 20 gallon tank is Waaay to small for these kind of fish

 

Just to add to the above statements, it's not about filtration, it's about territory.

 

I figured it was the tank size. I'm upgrading in a month. Getting a much larger tank most likely a 55gal.

 

I figured it was the tank size. I'm upgrading in a month. Getting a much larger tank most likely a 55gal.

It sounds to me like you are on the right track now that you are planning to purchase a larger tank. Since you already have multiple hiding places and good water quality the added space may fix your aggression problem. However, IME sometimes you'll end up with one fish that will just not live at peace with other fish, regardless of their supposed temperament. Some time ago I had an African cichlid that would simply not live at peace with any other fish! He was in an aquarium with the same fish since they were young and there was never a problem until he matured. At that point he was determined to rule whatever aquarium he was in! I tried everything, it just wasn't going to happen! I ended up taking him to my LFS and only then was there peace in my aquarium. lol

 

Dolphinlover to answer your question I use the API test kit

LisaAnne yea I was going to start with a big tank but I ran into problems and had to move so there was no room but now there is. If it doesn't change I'm going to take the two that think they are king of the tank out. They are just really colorful and its sad to watch them go of I need be

 

If it doesn't change I'm going to take the two that think they are king of the tank out.

If you do that just know the most dominant male left in the tank is going to take over the role.




Brian

 

My peacocks are about medium sized if I buy a few larger do you think they will learn their place Brian?

Chris

 

My peacocks are about medium sized if I buy a few larger do you think they will learn their place Brian?

Chris

If you buy larger ones and throw them in the tank there is probably a 100% chance you will have aggression still, just from the new bigger fish.
I would not add anything until you get a larger tank. And with keeping that in mind you just need to know while they are in the smaller tank one fish may kill off the rest. Just part of keeping cichlids in a smaller tank, even though you have some less aggressive species. And I am not one of those people who think you need these huge tanks to keep cichlids in, most of the time when people post that I disagree, but in the tank you have and the type of fish you are keeping it just won't work. You are going to probably end up with one fish.



Brian

 

My peacocks are about medium sized if I buy a few larger do you think they will learn their place Brian?

Chris

That would just place larger, and likely even more aggressive fish, in too small a tank as well. The aggression will only stop when there is room for enough territories for every fish.

I wouldn't think about adding any fish until you're able to provide them with a proper environment.

Edit: Brian beat me to it!

 

I have successfully removed very aggressive male African cichlids and even though a different male took their place as the new dominant male it still worked out beautifully. Everyone knew this male was boss but, he proved to be quite the peace keeper as well. Yes, you will always have a top dog in the tank but, it doesn't mean that he will be a tyrant.

 

Yeah I wasn't gonna place anymore till I got a bigger tank anyways. Thanks you guys. My friends got me into this and kinda let me fend for myself haha. I just hope it won't be like this in the bigger tank. Ill keep you guys posted

I found out what the problem was, I think. So I was moving the rocks around and found 4 babies from the first fish that died. I was checking on another fish and shes prego too haha I lose two fish and gain 4+ I'm not going to keep them. The shop I go to actually buys them so ill sell them and purchase a larger tank its sad to lose two but it worked out. I was thinking they were trying to fight for the young if fish do that

 

moving rock around have played a big role they're cichlids...VERY territorial fish. I had a peacock who got bullied to death by 2 other Africans. Then at another time, a peacock bullied a blue zebra AND a yellow lab. Before that, these 3 ganged up on the orange zebra and killed it (smaller in size). Just because they wanted and could. That's when I decided enough with these fish.

They are TOO aggressive and the teeniest change to their tank or if they feel another fish is coming too close to their territory, will start a bloodbath...until someone is dead. You can try to break it off and they will stop for a few minutes...then start it will. They're VERY smart too. They won't eat each other in front of you. They'll just chase around and bully. They'll do it when you're not there. Good decision to give them up. I don't have mine either!

 

I found out what the problem was, I think. So I was moving the rocks around and found 4 babies from the first fish that died. I was checking on another fish and shes prego too haha I lose two fish and gain 4+ I'm not going to keep them. The shop I go to actually buys them so ill sell them and purchase a larger tank its sad to lose two but it worked out. I was thinking they were trying to fight for the young if fish do that

You certainly may have your answer! Lots of aggression issues are between males during mating times. Also, males sometimes will chase a female relentlessly when he is ready to mate. If you know the sex of your fish, what is the male to female ratio? I ask because sometimes if you have a 1:1 male to female ratio, the male will chase the one female until she dies. Unless you are planning to keep only males (I don't personally recommend this since the males show off lots of color to impress the ladies!), it's a good idea to have more females than males in your tank.

Yes, it is sad that you had to lose 2 of your fish but, it sounds like that experience has put you on the right track for future African cichlid keeping. African cichlids are notorious for their interesting behavior, namely aggression! lol Their personality is what I love the most about them! While aggression will never be fully eliminated with these fish (if it could, they be far less interesting! IMO), it can be very manageable. Once you move these fish to your larger tank and add additional hiding spaces you'll be so much better off. In the mean time, it is a good idea to keep moving those rocks around in your tank every once in a while. Doing so may help break up any territorial strongholds and reduce aggression to a certain degree. Good luck!

 

Question, the last time was a fluke getting these babies. Now that I'm pretty sure another peacock is pregnant how long do I expect to see the babies? I have her in a breeding hang on tank, not big enough. I feel that its stressing her, but I put her back in the regular tank and she gets attacked. She doesn't move when shes in the breeding tank even though she has room . I really wanna know what the babies will look like since she was a hybrid. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The Red Empress is a beautiful haplochromine line, bred from the Namalenje strain in Lake Malawi. As is usual for haps, the males are the showy ones whereas females are drab gray/brown with black horizontal striping. The males generally color up around 8 cm. During courting and breeding, the male will actively and aggressively defend a large territory, driving out any fish that may inadvertently enter the territory. When not breeding, the male will no longer defend this territory and will allow any fish to go into it and be overall very peaceful. They are very aggressive against other males of their kind and it is not recommended to have more than one male in a tank unless the tank is very large.
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I just read this about my Red Empress... this is probably what happened. -_- should of seen this earlier.

 

Question, the last time was a fluke getting these babies. Now that I'm pretty sure another peacock is pregnant how long do I expect to see the babies? I have her in a breeding hang on tank, not big enough. I feel that its stressing her, but I put her back in the regular tank and she gets attacked. She doesn't move when shes in the breeding tank even though she has room . I really wanna know what the babies will look like since she was a hybrid. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The average brooding period for peacocks is 3 weeks. After that she should releases her fry. However, even though the fry are ready to be released at 3 weeks, generally they won't release their fry until they think it is safe to do so. If you are worried about your peacock you can always strip the fry at about 2 -2.5 weeks. That way the mom can go back into her bigger space and begin eating regularly again. Don't leave her in your breeder with the fry too long. Eventually she might eat most of her fry. (I had a melanochromis cyaneorhabdos that would always eat all but 2 or 3 of her fry if she was left with them in my QT for too long while the fry were still very small.) If you've never stripped fry you can find lots of info online. I've stripped many fry and it isn't hard at all.

The above video is one example. Just make sure when you hold the fish that, #1 your hands are wet before you pick her up so that you do not harm her slime coat, and #2 that her fins are against her body so that you do not damage them. Also, in the video this guy uses a twisted "bread tie" to open the mother's mouth... I just use my fingernail. It really is easier than you think!

The Red Empress is a beautiful haplochromine line, bred from the Namalenje strain in Lake Malawi. As is usual for haps, the males are the showy ones whereas females are drab gray/brown with black horizontal striping. The males generally color up around 8 cm. During courting and breeding, the male will actively and aggressively defend a large territory, driving out any fish that may inadvertently enter the territory. When not breeding, the male will no longer defend this territory and will allow any fish to go into it and be overall very peaceful. They are very aggressive against other males of their kind and it is not recommended to have more than one male in a tank unless the tank is very large. I just read this about my Red Empress... this is probably what happened. -_- should of seen this earlier.

Red Empress are BEAUTIFUL fish! Yes, they can be aggressive but then, most haps are IME. Still, once you get that extra space, hiding places, and maybe add a few more females (after everything is well cycled), your fish may behave a lot differently. In the mean time, you have time to do your research about possible tank mates. Look for other fish with a similar size and temperament. (e.g. slower moving fish don't appreciate being in a tank with lots of fast moving fish, more peaceful fish will be bullied by the more aggressive fish...etc.) It also helps (not necessary though) if tank mate has different colors and/or patterns. Fish often feel less threatened by fish that look nothing like them. Make sure you read up on your existing fish as well. Some fish do best with a certain number of their own species in their tank. (Like your empress. He will do well as the only male of his kind but, with more than 1 female of his kind.) Sometimes, trail and error is the only way to know for sure, keeping in mind that with ANY Africans you will probably need to remove fish somewhere along the line due to aggression no matter how carefully you go about picking tank mates. In the end it comes down to each individual fish because regardless of their temperament, they all have their own personalities! Also, they will go about establishing a pecking order, it's just part of keeping African cichlids. Here is a good read about fish compatibility:

Keep asking those questions and do lots of research! I promise it gets easier!

 

My first tank was a cichlid tank, and because I was a beginner, admittedly I did not do my research. Cichlids need a much larger tank. You usually have to get the cichlids all at once while they are young, because they do establish a "pecking order" in the tank. My suggestion would be to watch your tank, see who the 1st in charge is and then who is the second in charge. Take first in charge out, put him in a properly set up QT tank for 5 days. After 5 days, re-acclimate him into the old tank and put him in, when it is dark. See what happens. Other fish will have taken over, and this may solve the issue, it may not.

 

The average brooding period for peacocks is 3 weeks. After that she should releases her fry. However, even though the fry are ready to be released at 3 weeks, generally they won't release their fry until they think it is safe to do so. If you are worried about your peacock you can always strip the fry at about 2 -2.5 weeks. That way the mom can go back into her bigger space and begin eating regularly again. Don't leave her in your breeder with the fry too long. Eventually she might eat most of her fry. (I had a melanochromis cyaneorhabdos that would always eat all but 2 or 3 of her fry if she was left with them in my QT for too long while the fry were still very small.) If you've never stripped fry you can find lots of info online. I've stripped many fry and it isn't hard at all.

The above video is one example. Just make sure when you hold the fish that, #1 your hands are wet before you pick her up so that you do not harm her slime coat, and #2 that her fins are against her body so that you do not damage them. Also, in the video this guy uses a twisted "bread tie" to open the mother's mouth... I just use my fingernail. It really is easier than you think!

Red Empress are BEAUTIFUL fish! Yes, they can be aggressive but then, most haps are IME. Still, once you get that extra space, hiding places, and maybe add a few more females (after everything is well cycled), your fish may behave a lot differently. In the mean time, you have time to do your research about possible tank mates. Look for other fish with a similar size and temperament. (e.g. slower moving fish don't appreciate being in a tank with lots of fast moving fish, more peaceful fish will be bullied by the more aggressive fish...etc.) It also helps (not necessary though) if tank mate has different colors and/or patterns. Fish often feel less threatened by fish that look nothing like them. Make sure you read up on your existing fish as well. Some fish do best with a certain number of their own species in their tank. (Like your empress. He will do well as the only male of his kind but, with more than 1 female of his kind.) Sometimes, trail and error is the only way to know for sure, keeping in mind that with ANY Africans you will probably need to remove fish somewhere along the line due to aggression no matter how carefully you go about picking tank mates. In the end it comes down to each individual fish because regardless of their temperament, they all have their own personalities! Also, they will go about establishing a pecking order, it's just part of keeping African cichlids. Here is a good read about fish compatibility:

Keep asking those questions and do lots of research! I promise it gets easier!

This is great. Thanks Lisa. My pregnant fish spit out the eggs early before they hatched. I guess I'm going to have to attempt and tumble for the first time. There are only two eggs. I don't know if there are anymore in her but I don't want to strip them is there are. Either way its a chance that those two may live or not. I'm going to try my best. I'm getting excited to see what color they are since they are coming from an OB hybrid.

Just an update on my fishes status. The red empress male has the 20 gallon tank to himself for now the other male is in the isolation hang on with filter and all. The babies are also on a hang on and the pregnant fish has a 10 gallon to herself that my friends had supplied me for the babies. I can't wait I'm getting a 55 gallon in a few weeks.