How to handle aggression? Will adding more fish help?

[Complexity]

I'm trying to decide which is best... let go of the more aggressive fish or add more to spread the aggression? Tell me what you guys think.

I added 25 new cichlids about 10 days ago, mostly peacocks and haps. While most are small, I did splurge and get 5 large adult peacocks. All are doing fine except two, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle it. All adults are males. I can't be sure of the juveniles.

One peacock, the largest, has claimed the tank. He's not overly aggressive, but every now and then he gets into a mood where he chases the other large peacocks.

Which brings me to problem peacock #2. He's shy. So he gets chased the most. The other peacocks may swim away and hide a little when chased, but they come back out. My shy one is beginning to hide more and more. He's found a place behind the rocks that hides him so well, I couldn't find him for a day.

My first thought was to let go of the largest peacock, the chaser. But I really like this fish and hate to let him go. Besides, no one's wanting him.

So I was wondering... since I've only had these fish or 10 days, what if I bought 3 more large peacocks to spread the chasing out? Would this make things better or worse?

[newb]

dont let go of the dominant fish...another one will just step up and become the aggressor. maybe change the rock scape so that you create new territories for them to try and command. or just give them time to get things settled down. If that doesnt work...you could try more fish.

[Complexity]

The big fish are too large to fit into "caves" in the rocks. When they need to hide, they usually go behind or beside the plants. I do want to add more rocks, though.

I thought about putting the dominate fish in another tank temporarily to let the others settle in more before putting him back. The only problem is he'd have to go in a 10g which may stress him out.

I got a list of my fish together to show what I have. As the juvenile haps grow larger, I'll cull out the females and duplicate males. It was just cheaper to get 3 juveniles than 1 adult.

3 — (3�) Ancistrus sp. (Bristlenose Pleco)
1 — (5�) Aulonocara koningsi Mbenji "Blue Regal" <-- dominate fish
1 — (4.5�) Aulonocara maulana “Bicolor 500� (Bicolor 500 Peacock)
1 — (4�) Aulonocara stuartgranti "German Red" (German Red Peacock) <-- shy fish
1 — (4.5�) Aulonocara stuartgranti “Cobue�
3 — (3.5�) Aulonocara stuartgranti ''Ngara Flametail'' (Flametail Peacock)
3 — (2.5�) Cyrtocara moorii (Blue Dolphin)
1 — (3�) Geophagus altifrons
3 — (2.5�) Haplochromis sp. "Uganda Fire Red" (Fire Red Hap)
12 — (2.5�) Labidochromis caeruleus (Yellow Lab)
1 — (1.5�) Neolamprologus leleupi
1 — (2.5�) Neolamprologus pulcher "Daffodil� (Daffodil brichardi)
3 — (2.5�) Placidochromis Electra (Deep water eletra)
1 — (2.5�) Placidochromis phenochilus
1 — (2.5�) Protomelas steveni "Taiwan Reef"
3 — (2.5�) Pseudotropheus sp. "Msobo Deep"
3 — (2.5�) Sciaenochromis fryeri (Electric Blue Hap)
7 — (2�) Synodontis petricola “Dwarf�

[screename]

dont let go of the dominant fish...another one will just step up and become the aggressor. maybe change the rock scape so that you create new territories for them to try and command. or just give them time to get things settled down. If that doesnt work...you could try more fish.

Agreed. I would add more. I had a similar problem in my 75. I had a few small peacocks and a 3 large ones. I traded in all my smaller ones and got 12 large peacocks. It seems like a lot but now there is almost no aggression at all except during feeding time. I was unsure at first but Don from FG suggested this to me and it has worked out.

[myjohnson]

+1

Pack those cheap fishes up and they will do great!

[cichlid1409]

i would have to agree with adding more fish. in my experience removing the dominant male will leave the position open for the next largest/aggressive fish and removing the fish thats being picked on will cause the attacker to find another fish to pester, so it doesn't fix anything really.

[Complexity]

Fantastic! I didn't want to let go of the dominate fish. He's one of my favorites! I'd love to add more! I'd especially like to add more red color to the tank.

Looks like I get to get more fish!

What I think I'll do is get more fish and add more rocks at the same time. I've heard that it's best to change the territories when you add new fish to a cichlid tank. Now I just have to figure out where I can get some more large peacocks.

Thanks for everyone's help. Greatly appreciated!

[geoff_tropheus]

In all honesty, with agression problems what has worked for me is decoration.

I have compeltely rocked out tanks before and given pelnty of places for fish to hide, and use taller pieces in the center to knock down line of sight from one end to the other.

Adding more fish does not always work, and then you've just overloaded your tank space for something that did not work.

I can tell you that lesser numbers is usally disaster, so population does matter to some degree.

In addition to decoration, tank foot print is my next suggestion. The wider for more decoration options, and then longer to seperate out territories.

[PhishPhreek]

yep, sicklids are just practice for raising bettas.
If you can't give 'em enough room to run or places to hide, then provide multiple targets to distribute the aggression.

[Complexity]

I'd love a bigger tank, but there's just so much space in my house. Since I love overstocked tanks anyway, it seems that's my best option. I'll also do a better job with the rocks now that I have an idea of what I'm doing other than just trying to make it look nice.

[FrontosaurusRex]

I personally dont think adding more fish is going to solve your problem, but anything is worth a try. The best advice that I think you've gotten so far is the scaping. Change up the formation of rocks, spread out the territories and put some breaks in the line of sight. That is the only thing that keeps my dominant Front from eating everyone else.

[Darbex]

I think they need time to adjust and figure out the pecking order. You will always have an aggressive fish

[fshfrk]

Get 10-12 filament barbs for dither. They are one of the fastest aquaria fish, they school and are very distracting to the Bully. Pack it some more.

[SteveCGG]

Even though I would trade for your aggressive fish, I agree with everyone else...keep him, add fish, and change the decorations a bit at the same time. That way everyone has to figure out what is going on and where is the best place to hang out. Your tank looks awesome as it is, but more fish are better! If the aggressive one still acts up, let me know...I have room and possible trades!

[Complexity]

Steve, I'll let you know if adding more fish doesn't work out. I want more fish anyway so it's worth a try. If, after adding more fish, rearranging the rocks, and giving them some time to settle, the dominate fish continues to chase my red german peacock, then I'll let you know so we can do a trade. I'd really like to keep him if I can get it to work out.

fshfreak, I'll think about the filament barbs. At first thought, they seem like they'd be out of place in the tank. But I'd also enjoy the added variety of fish in the tank. If all my other attempts fail, I may try them before giving up.