Normal Behavior Or Aggressive Behavior?

I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank. I had 4 Nerite Snails, 5 Emerald Green Cories, 5 Eastern Rainbows, and 1 Blood Parrot. On Saturday, I added a Bandit Cichlid to the mix.

The Blood Parrot has always been the ruler of the tank. Nothing in the tank is full size yet. When I added both the Cories and the Rainbows, the Parrot chased them for the first day, but they're smaller and he quickly realized they were no threat, and he hasn't bothered them since. They know it's the Parrot's tank, and when he gets near them, they get out of the way, but he rarely chases them anymore.

Almost immediately after adding the Bandit, the two Cichlids fought. I'm not sure who started it, but they both appeared quite aggressive against the other. They were lip locked for a good 5-10 minutes, literally. Neither fish went for the other's body, and it was a head to head fight the entire time. For what it's worth, these two fish are almost identical in size at the moment. There was no visible damage to either fish when the fight ended; No blood, etc. This was the first real fish fight I've witnessed, but to my eye, the Bandit seemed to win. The Parrot swimmed off, while the Bandit held his place. The Parrot stayed fairly still near the top corner of the tank for a long period, to me signifying being stressed. He looked quite stressed for a few hours, while the Bandit looked fine. For the next several days, I've seen the Bandit very rarely as he's been in hiding almost constantly, while the Parrot completely rebounded and was back to acting completely normal. Any time the Bandit has come out of hiding, the Parrot has chased him incessantly. The Parrot doesn't let up. He isn't nipping, or slamming him into the wall, pinning him in a corner, etc. It's only chasing now, but the chasing is relentless. Tonight, the Bandit is out much more, and is being constantly chased, but it appears slightly less relentless tonight. They haven't fought again, at least not when I've been around to see it.

Is this just normal Cichlid behavior that will stop once the Bandit is no longer new, or is this aggression that I need to worry about? I don't want either fish getting killed, stressed to death, etc.

 

Cichlids are territorial animals. I'd say take the new one back.

 

The parrot will be stressed indefinitely. Cichlids fight by lip locking, as you saw. BPs aren't able to open their mouths very much at all. They're usually a very small vertical opening. The BP cannot defend itself.

I hate blood parrots (or the people who breed and sell them, more specifically) for that reason alone.

 

Thanks for your thoughts, guys!

MikeRad89, I think you may have misunderstood part of my post. Although I believe the Parrot lost the fight, and was stressed for a few hours, he made a complete recovery after those few hours. Since then, it's the Bandit who has been in almost constant hiding, and the Blood Parrot who's now the aggressor, constantly chasing the Bandit whenever it's not in hiding.

 

I agree that you should likely tank the Bandit back.

That being said you could try pulling both fish into separate buckets. Moving all the major terrain and things in the tank, and readding them (Maybe a deep gravel vac too since you're moving everything?). The parrot already thinks the whole tank is his, you added another bloke and they fought. If you change the terrain enough they might not be as territorial.

TT

 

Good morning. For those who have responded, thank you! I was wondering if there's anyone else out there with an opinion on this.

tyguy7760, TexasDomer, Anders247, el337 and anyone else who has an opinion.

 

Nobody else has any thoughts on this?

 

In my experience this behavior is normal when introducing new cichlids to each other as they need to establish their pecking order. BUT it shouldn't go on for a long time. If the parrot is being relentless and not backing off after this much time.... he may never back off.

I have very limited experience with this in my semi-aggressive tank. But if it goes on for more than a few hours into a day or more........ I don't consider it establishing pecking order anymore.... at that point I don't think the two will be able to live together.

With that being said....based on your description it doesn't sound like the parrot has got any intention of backing down. How long has it been now?

 

Thanks, bizaliz3! Unfortunately, I think you're probably right. I'm just so confused about this as it's the Bandit who really appeared to be the winner of the one fight that I witnessed! So, I added the Bandit on Christmas eve and they fought almost immediately, and as I said, the Bandit seemed to win, and appeared fine for several hours, while the Parrot seemed very stressed for the same few hours and went nowhere near the Bandit.

Since Christmas day, the Bandit has been relentlessly chased by the Parrot any time it's not in hiding. When in hiding, the Parrot doesn't look for it, but anytime it comes out, the Parrot is right behind it, chasing it all over the tank. But it's only chasing. There's no slamming it into a wall, no biting, etc. They absolutely get close enough to bite, lip lock, etc but they never do.

 

I have limited experience with cichlids but this does not seem normal behavoir.
They will fight again and continue to chase eachother. Leading to both of them being stressed, and being stressed leading to poor health.

I'm not sure of other tricks for territorial fish like cichlids, i'd try removing the fish, changing the decor then re-adding them.
If that does not work, then its probably best to re-home one of them.

 

I've included a short video of the chasing, incase it helps to determine if it's normal or aggressive...

 

2 is pretty much the worst number of cichlids to keep outside of mated pairs. Is the bandit eating? If not you need to rehome it, the constant chasing will weaken it to the point of no return.

 

Thanks, slayer5590! If I do rehome, I'll want to add another. What can I look for that will make the next try work better? Will something smaller than the Parrot work better (Parrot and Bandit are essentially the same size right now)? Will having a total of three Cichlids be best?

The Bandit has eaten, but doesn't seem to eat everyday (unless it's eating off the bottom from his hiding spot).

 

Yes 3 would be fine. You could add another small to medium sized cichlid now to spread the chasing around

 

I can get my hands on a Sajica, which I was hoping for in the first place, but I found the Bandit first. The Sajica is considerably smaller than the other two, though. I want to make sure it's not going to be a dangerous situation for that fish, though, and I'm worried about overstocking.

bizaliz3 and slayer5590, any thoughts?

 

A sajica should be fine with them.

 

You wouldn't be worried since it's smaller? You don't think the three Cichlids on top of my other fish would overstock my tank?

 

Usually easier to introduce a smaller fish to a group. Introducing a fish of similar size rarely goes well for the new fish. I think you are fine bioload wise.

 

Thanks, slayer5590! I'm still a beginner, so I had to ask. But, I'd have to say that my experience suggests your smaller fish theory is true as my Parrot was far less relentless with my Rainbows and Cories.

Regardless of adding the Sajica or not, how/when do I determine if the Bandit and Parrot will or will not be ok together? It's been a week (tomorrow) and I don't want the Bandit to get stressed to death.

 

Is there any damage to the fins or body of the bandit? If there isn't they should work it out, but if there is you may have to move it on.

 

I'm 95% sure there's not, but I'll inspect the next time he comes out of hiding. Like I said, though, other than the one fight, all I've witnessed is relentless chasing. No nipping, biting, slamming into a wall, etc.

 

I've included a short video of the chasing, incase it helps to determine if it's normal or aggressive...

I have a blood parrot as well and I have added another cichlid two separate times. The first one was a Bolivian ram that actually harrassed my parrot to no end so I brought him back. Then I bought a electric blue acara and the parrot never left him alone so I put him in a separate tank. The video seems like the parrot really has it out for your other cichlid. I would do as others suggested and move the decor around but if that doesn't help bring back the new one because it's too stressful to be chased constantly.

 

Thanks, all! I appreciate the advice! From what I'm getting so far, you guys don't think this is normal behavior at all, and that the video is exhibiting some definite aggression. Some folks seem to think I should handle it slightly differently than others, though. Also, I've checked both fish and there's no sign of fin or body damage.

I'm thinking about adding the third Cichlid to the tank (the small Sajica I mentioned earlier in this thread), and maybe change around some decor. If that doesn't work, I'll either rehome as appropriate, or I'll buy a new tank and rehome the Parrot to his very own tank so he can't bother anyone. Does this seem like a good plan?

 

No other thoughts on this before I execute my plan?

 

Thanks, all! I appreciate the advice! From what I'm getting so far, you guys don't think this is normal behavior at all, and that the video is exhibiting some definite aggression. Some folks seem to think I should handle it slightly differently than others, though. Also, I've checked both fish and there's no sign of fin or body damage.

I'm thinking about adding the third Cichlid to the tank (the small Sajica I mentioned earlier in this thread), and maybe change around some decor. If that doesn't work, I'll either rehome as appropriate, or I'll buy a new tank and rehome the Parrot to his very own tank so he can't bother anyone. Does this seem like a good plan?

I think that's sounds like a plan except isn't your parrot happy in said tank? I know he did a little bullying to the corys but everything was fine until you added the bandit right? Why not move the bandit to his own tank instead?

 

I definitely think you need to take both fish out and rearrange the decor, regardless if you are adding new fish or not. A lot of people have already suggested this, and I'm kind of surprised you have spent all this time not trying it. It's a simple thing to do to try and help both fish, so just do it. I'm not trying to be mean, but if you can't be bothered, don't get any new fish, and take the other back. Just keep it the happy tank it was.

 

I've never tried rearranging decor before. If I do this, how do I go about it? Do I just swap a few items or do I need to pretty much move everything to a different location?

Although things were fine until I added the Bandit, the Parrot has shown some aggression every time I've added new fish. So, I figured the Parrot was the problem, and should be moved, if anything. I'd like to hear if this is incorrect thinking, though.

Unfortunately, the Sajica is no longer available, and I need to wait until next week when hopefully another will come in.

 

I've never tried rearranging decor before. If I do this, how do I go about it? Do I just swap a few items or do I need to pretty much move everything to a different location?

Although things were fine until I added the Bandit, the Parrot has shown some aggression every time I've added new fish. So, I figured the Parrot was the problem, and should be moved, if anything. I'd like to hear if this is incorrect thinking, though.

Unfortunately, the Sajica is no longer available, and I need to wait until next week when hopefully another will come in.

I would move everything around in a different location. It shouldn't take you too long. The parrot was just showing his dominance every time you brought in a new fish and then he settled down The problem is this time you added another cichlid. So I say take the two out, move everything around and put them back in. If there is still Alot of aggression, put the bandit in a different tank or bring back.

I've never tried rearranging decor before. If I do this, how do I go about it? Do I just swap a few items or do I need to pretty much move everything to a different location?

Although things were fine until I added the Bandit, the Parrot has shown some aggression every time I've added new fish. So, I figured the Parrot was the problem, and should be moved, if anything. I'd like to hear if this is incorrect thinking, though.

Unfortunately, the Sajica is no longer available, and I need to wait until next week when hopefully another will come in.

Also I wouldn't worry about getting a new fish until you have this sorted out.

 

Thanks, Lionsrour. So, you don't agree with previous advice suggesting a third Cichlid may fix the problem?

 

Thanks, Lionsrour. So, you don't agree with previous advice suggesting a third Cichlid may fix the problem?

No I don't agree with that but that's just my opinion. Maybe I'm wrong (which is not unusual lol) No matter what you decide to do, I would love to know how everything turns out

 

Thanks! I contacted the LFS where I bought the Bandit. They open again on Tuesday. I'm going to try rearranging the decor, and if that doesn't work, the Bandit will be going back on Tuesday.

 

I really hope this works out so you can keep both! Good luck!

 

Thanks!

 

Sweet! I hope it all works out for you!
Just take out the fish, and move some of the plants around, rearrange them, maybe take out an old ornament, add a new one, etc. Just make it look as much like a new place as possible. You don't have to go crazy. <3

 

As said at the beginning there are two territorial fish and not enough territory.

Solution: Just one territorial fish, simples.

That would be my approach, since you asked.

 

Hey, again, folks! Before I return the Bandit, I'd like to explore the possibility of buying a new tank for him.

Does anyone know what size tank would be needed, what tankmates, if any would be good, etc?

 

Have you considered another blood parrot?

 

No, I don't think that would be too much for my tank. Why do you ask?

 

No, I don't think that would be too much for my tank. Why do you ask?

You could have 2 BP in a 55g. Since you want another fish, why not another BP?

 

Simply because I didn't think I could fit two, especially considering my other fish.

Do you have any advice regarding possibly getting another tank for my Bandit?