Blue dolphin-aggressive?

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MrHoney2U

Guest
I am fairly new to the hobby but love African cichlids. I have finally got my haps and peacocks stocked well enough to minimize their aggression. I now have a new problem. I have a gibberosa ( only 1 unfortunately ) not sure what type. He/she is - as far as I can tell is mpimbwe. I also have a moori dolphin. Until recently my gibberosa ruled the tank in a mild manor way. Now the dolphin has assume that position and is keeping my front hiding most of the day. The dolphin doesn't really mess with the smaller fish just the gibberosa wo is about the same size. What would be the best way to spread or minimize that aggression? Should I add more dolphins ( that could back fire ) and I would rather add more gibberosa. Any ideas.
 

DiscusnAfricans

Past President
Frontosa/Gibberosa are pretty shy by nature. Unless you make the group fairly large, they are likely to stay sub-dominant to most fish in the tank. The dolphin will probably continue to pick on him due to conspecific aggression (similar body shape and nuccal hump make for a possible misconception).

What size tank? Unless its a 180 or larger, adding more gibbs probably isn't feasible. Your best bet would be to remove the dolphin if you want to keep the gibb, but for long term success, the fronts/gibbs will do best in a species tank, or in a tank with mellow tankmates.
 

YSS

Members
Yes, the first question is what size tank do you have and how many fish do you have in it?
 

Malawimania

Members
I would not add any more moorii, even if they all turn out to be females. The Moorii I used to have were always causing problems, and that was in my 220 gallon tank. I have four tanks so I tried seperating them, even then the moorii would be the most nippy fish. I think the only way you can calm your moorii down would be to add more male haps. I took all of mine to the LFS cause I could not stop the aggression. Good Luck!

-Steve
 
M

MrHoney2U

Guest
Thanks to everyone. I guess I knew the answer just was looking for that glimmer of hope. You don't see to many mature moorii with other fish. Occasionally a frontosa with others. Mostly species tanks.I currently have a 90 gallon. I plan to go bigger when need be. Right now I have a gibberosa, moorii, gold head, 2 red tail loach, 2 syn cats, and 16 mixed peacocks and haps. 23 fish total. I have 2 canister filters (cascade1500 & a 405)also using the aqua clear quick filter.The majority are not full grown. You can check it out on you tube under MrHoney2U. Thanks again. I think I am gonna wait till it becomes really bad and then trade him (moorii). I'll post then and see if they have any takers
 

YSS

Members
I have never had any issues with mooris. I currently have one in my 90G. He/she is about 7 inches and doesn't bother anyone, but I don't have a frontosa. When I had more than one moori, they always hung out together and never bothered anyone.
 

neut

Members
I've kept both and the fact is either species can vary quite a bit in temperament. In other words, you could get a different gibberosa that could just as easily boss the whole tank or a different moorii that might be much less dominant. That said, the moorii I've had liked to throw their weight around when they could get away with it. I've also shut them right down and turned them into good citizens by putting a more dominant fish in the tank.

Besides the tank size issue, if your current moorii is a male that wants to dominate, adding more moorii would likely make him even more aggressive, whether you end up with females that he wants to spawn with or a male he thinks he needs to chase away.
 

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Good advice here. Funny how neut mentions different fish in different situations behaving differently. I've had a 8" male moori for some time. Whenever I tried to add him into an all-male setup, he would get rocked. Had to permanently move him down to the growout tank, where he is the largest, but not a dominant fish. Go figure. :)

Good luck Gary. Like the others had said, I certainly wouldn't add any more dolphins to the mix. This will likely only make your guy more frisky/angry.
 
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