One cichlid moving gravel, one's hiding, why?

[mandem]

I'm new to cichlids and this past week 2 of them started acting differently. They're from lake malawi but i don't know exactly which species. i've been told by someone they are cynotilapia afra. The tank is established (30 gals) and i've had them in it for probably 2 months. One has dug several deep holes in the gravel and moved the rest against one side of the tank. Another is hiding in a hole in some drift wood and hasn't come out to eat in 4 or 5 days.  i'm starting to get worried. Is this mating behavior? Do i need to somehow make sure the second one eats or is this normal? There are 5 others in the tank but their behavior hasn't changed. The gravel mover is larger and more aggressive (upper left in attachment), i've always assumed it was a male. The one hiding looks somewhat similar but is smaller and less colorful (upper right). I've always assumed it was female but don't know for sure. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks. also, one of my yellow labs has lost almost all black coloring in his fins. yellow has faded a bit too since this picture. does that mean anything? other lab hasn't changed.

[armthehomeless]

Re: One cichlid moving gravel, one's hiding, why?

How big are these guys?

[cichlidsooner]

Re: One cichlid moving gravel, one's hiding, why?

That fish is eatting, it just waits for you to get away from the tank, that or the lights to go out, or you got a female with babies in her mouth.

He is making his home and fending off all others!! His whole to breed in!!
Let me guess it is the afra? Big fish rules and if he has a female, he is only interested in one thing, keep other fish away and gettin some! My orangbacks afra's are vicious, they run off everthing that gets near their whole! Peacocks not so much, labidochromis not so much but the afra's are just plain out mean, even meaner than my psuedotrophus. Get in their whole or their space or half of the tank and they just get to whipping some a$$!

Dude, I had a Frontosa that moved gravel like a front end loader!!  Not the smaller gravel either! That is what they do! They move gravel and we paint walls and put in things we like to make the room ours! They doing that by moving gravel!

[eklikewhoa]

Re: One cichlid moving gravel, one's hiding, why?

Is it me or those labs look really sick/deformed?

[mandem]

Re: One cichlid moving gravel, one's hiding, why?

the largest is probably 3". they're fairly small compared to the others i saw when i bought them.

unfortunately it isn't coming out when i feed it which is why i posted. i use pellets and the others eat everything if i try to leave a couple extra in just in case. unless it can get by on a couple scraps, there's no food left to eat when the lights go out. i'd like to move it for a bit to feed it but if there are eggs or babies involved i'm afraid i will do more harm than good. can they really starve themselves to death? seems like instinct wouldn't let that happen.

[Mzungu]

Re: One cichlid moving gravel, one's hiding, why?

If the female is holding, she won't eat much, if anything. Have you seen the hiding fish at all?

ek - I can't really tell from the picture, but they do look a bit thin...

[mandem]

Re: One cichlid moving gravel, one's hiding, why?

the pic of the labs was taken right after we bought them. probably not much longer than 1 1/2" at the time. here's an updated pic of one of them. still thin? the other doesn't look as good which is why i asked about the black fading.

edit: no, i haven't seen any proof of eggs or babies. the hole is pretty small/dark though. at first i thought the fish was stuck but it ventures out every now and then for a second then goes back in. even if other fisth aren't around or bothering it.

[Mzungu]

Re: One cichlid moving gravel, one's hiding, why?

I defer to the experts... :)

But I did find a picture of a female afra holding:

http://www.zoopermarket.se/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=26

[Hanson77]

Re: One cichlid moving gravel, one's hiding, why?

You more than likely got a pair that are trying to breed.  If she is not mature enough, she will still kinda go through the motions but will more than likely end up swallowing whatever eggs she is holding.  Also, if there is too much commotion in the tank she might swallow them as well because she doesn't feel secure enough to spit them from my experience.  Or she will spit and they will end up getting eaten.  As for the pic of the Yellow Lab....unless he is just really narrow when looking at you, nothing looks wrong with him.  If nothing else, try feeding a bit more because he may just not be getting the nutrients he needs because the other fish are getting to it first.  I found that the Afras are just pigs and will eat everything you throw out them fairly quickly before anything else gets the chance.  Just my two pennies worth.