10 Gallon Tank Multi/shellie cichlid question!

[Bruiser821]

Hi guys! I have a question about flashing behavior. Can flashing be a sign of males fighting/ territorial issues?

The fish all keep flashing like seen in the right of this video. No one looks like they have ich. Everyone has normal (nonstringy) poop! They all eat normally too.

Any ideas?

I just set up this multi tank a week ago today. The fish arrived looking healthy and brightened up within a few hours of being in the tank. They are in a 10 gal with mts with them. Current water situation: ph 8.2, ammonia 0 ppm, nitrite 0 ppm, nitrate 10 ppm, gh 9, kh 6.

 

[Flyfisha]

I had shellies for a couple of years. When Covid stopped auctions I had 80 plus adults and some juveniles in a 22 gallon tall./ 2 foot tank.

Is that sand or small gravel in the video it’s hard to tell? If it’s sand they will be / should be busy spitting mouthfuls out as they dig around.

I think it’s early days yet. The group is just setting in and filling out who is the boss etc.
I don’t recall seeing that behaviour but as they are cichlids and it’s only been a week I suspect your instincts about males dancing in front of males is correct? Not so much territorial or aggression but showing off perhaps?

Hint.
In time you will likely get green algae growing on the shells. Although I think it looks nice up to a point , it can be removed by bleaching a few shells at a time.

 

[Bruiser821]

I had shellies for a couple of years. When Covid stopped auctions I had 80 plus adults and some juveniles in a 22 gallon tall./ 2 foot tank.

Is that sand or small gravel in the video it’s hard to tell? If it’s sand they will be / should be busy spitting mouthfuls out as they dig around.

I think it’s early days yet. The group is just setting in and filling out who is the boss etc.
I don’t recall seeing that behaviour but as they are cichlids and it’s only been a week I suspect your instincts about males dancing in front of males is correct? Not so much territorial or aggression but showing off perhaps?

Hint.
In time you will likely get green algae growing on the shells. Although I think it looks nice up to a point , it can be removed by bleaching a few shells at a time.

That's a lot of shellies! They have a sandy bottom to their tank.

Okay, that's what I'm really hoping. I've been looking for these guys for so long I don't want to lose them already! None of them seem to be mean to each other. They're more playful than anything, yeah!

Thanks for the quick reply

 

[DrPleconstein]

Hi guys! I have a question about flashing behavior. Can flashing be a sign of males fighting/ territorial issues?

The fish all keep flashing like seen in the right of this video. No one looks like they have ich. Everyone has normal (nonstringy) poop! They all eat normally too.

Any ideas?

I just set up this multi tank a week ago today. The fish arrived looking healthy and brightened up within a few hours of being in the tank. They are in a 10 gal with mts with them. Current water situation: ph 8.2, ammonia 0 ppm, nitrite 0 ppm, nitrate 10 ppm, gh 9, kh 6.

Hi! Flashing can be a normal part of cichlid behavior. Sometimes it can be because there is irritation along the body, but it can also be part of feeding behavior to stir up food. They may also use it as a method to display dominance. I know with my cichlids after I first set the tank up flashing was much more prominent, but has sense calmed down and I rarely see any flashing. Most important is to keep an eye out for any infections (both parasitic or lesions) that may be causing the flashing and to eliminate all sharp surfaces from the tank so that they will not injury themselves further in doing this behavior.

 

[Bruiser821]

Hi! Flashing can be a normal part of cichlid behavior. Sometimes it can be because there is irritation along the body, but it can also be part of feeding behavior to stir up food. They may also use it as a method to display dominance. I know with my cichlids after I first set the tank up flashing was much more prominent, but has sense calmed down and I rarely see any flashing. Most important is to keep an eye out for any infections (both parasitic or lesions) that may be causing the flashing and to eliminate all sharp surfaces from the tank so that they will not injury themselves further in doing this behavior.

Okay, glad to hear! It is still occurring but seems to be much less frequent than a couple days ago. Still going to keep an eye on them for any worms etc!