Dancing Vic

[Andrew_B]

After the first batch of fry from each female, it took a while for the big guy to let them back into his tank. They got beat up some, one is missing a tail now. They were recovering in another tank for the past month. Tried another route and snagged some tinfoil barbs as a distraction, and threw the male into "time out". I took these videos virtually the moment after I let him out of time out after a few days in the breeder.

[cichlid1409]

that guys a mean SOB. they are mouthbrooders correct? if so try stripping the females next time to avoid the stress of reintegration.

[Andrew_B]

Yeah, he may get permanent "time-out" from the time the females start holding until a few weeks after. I throw the females in a breeder net in a 10gal, then tried putting back into his tank after they spit, but that didnt work well. They were in my community tank for a while recovering which worked, but may just put them in his tank afterwords and him in time out where he belongs. Wish I could find more females. If I could get a hold of 3-4 more, I'd probably pick up a 4ft tank for them instead of the puny 29g. At least he's a good looking fish, if he was hideous and an *** hole, he'd be in a whole different world of pain!

[fshfrk]

Vic The *****

[cichlid1409]

give him a good thump across the forehead

[fshfrk]

EK style!

[Andrew_B]

Woke up this morning to see every fish, even the big barbs, virtually laying down horizontal hiding under rocks. Probably not a healthy sign huh. I threw him back in timeout and took away his ipod privleges. Instantly after, every other fish is swimming about and eating like normal. So going to leave him in there for a month. The thump is a good idea too, just flick his face a few times then? Is there any proper technique used for situations like this?

[armthehomeless]

Talk about aggessive!

Thanks for sharing the videos!

[SOULJAA]

Andrew, use a hamster ball. I have been using them for years with great success!!! Hamster balls saves you from setting up and maintaining multiple tanks. They also "teaches" the bully to behave in the company of others b/c they will just exhaust themselves trying to get out of the ball. So once they're finally out, then it kinda like "it's useless fighting them guys b/c they mean me no harm". Think of it as the bully becomes "institutionalized" to a certain extend...Now on the flip side...it gives the bullied fish a chance to get their confidence up to defend themselves more. So all in all, hamster balls are quite a handy thing to have around. They have saved me numerous fish (which equates to a lot of $) over the years. Petsmart and Petco should have them in the various sizes...
[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Owner/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.png[/IMG]