Cichlids not Getting Along

Just set up my 50 gallon tank, cycled and running. I have two African cichlids, one blue and the other orange. The blue one is about 3 inches, while the orange one is about 2. I have many large rocks and caves in the tank, but it always seems as if the blue cichlid is bullying or chasing the orange one into this one corner, and sometimes nipping at it.

I have two theories for this type of aggression. Maybe I don't have enough decoration such as rocks to establish territories, or I need to add some more cichlids to distribute or get rid of the aggression. I've heard that peacock cichlids have to be in a group of around 6 or 7 to neutralize the aggression. Is that the same for African cichlids? Can someone help me figure out why the blue one's being aggressive and how to solve the problem.

 

A201

 

Yes you need more two will likely never work.

 

What cichlids are we talking exactly? There are hundreds of african species. Peacocks are just one group african cichlids.

How about you post a foto of the cichlids for a real ID and a pic of the tank for tipps on that?

 

When I purchased them, the tag just said "Assorted African Cichlids".

 

When I purchased them, the tag just said "Assorted African Cichlids".

That is sadly often the case and says nothing about hte actual fish. Just trade jargon. Africa is a big continent with a lot of different biotopes and hundreds of cichlid species. The description you gave could apply to too many different species.
A picture of the fish and the tank would be really helpful, otherwise we all can just guess.

 

This is my aquarium.

 

This is... sparsely decorated. To spread aggression these Mbuna (a group of species from Lake Malawi) should be kept in bigger groups and they need a lot of rockwork with caves and cravisses to hide in case the aggression is to much for one of them. Google pictures of Lake MalawI underwater and MalawI Mbuna tanks. You will immediately see what I mean.

I can't tell you the exact species allthough there are only a handful that would fit.

What do you feed them?

 

I feed them a mixture of freeze dried brine shrimp and pellets.

 

You should cut the shrimp, Mbuna are vegetarians. What pellets are they?

Mbuna do very well with cucumber 2-3x a week, lettuce and spinage. Pellets or flakes should have a high plant content and low protein.

 

The pellets are HikarI Tropical Micro Pellets.

 

This is for tetras and barbs not cichlids.

I'd try MalawI Flakes by Tropical or Novo MalawI by JBL. Or something similar. The main ingredients should be plants and not crude proteins anf fibers.

 

Looks like one is a Kenyi, another might be a Red Zebra. That's all I see.

 

I do have a question. If the fish is a vegetarian, why does it devour the shrimp?

 

Most Mbuna are omnivorous, but lean more towards a plant based diet. Brine shrimp is fine to feed occassionally, but a good African Cichlid specific pellet or flake food should be a staple.
Too much protein binds certain mbuna' species intestines, causing "Bloat" a condition that is usually fatal.

 

I do have a question. If the fish is a vegetarian, why does it devour the shrimp?

Opportunism and the fact they know it's edible. But yes, 100% agree with A201.