Tropical Fish Forums

[JedAndJess]

Hello,

we have recently purchased 4 juvenile fairy cichlids. We had one juvenile on his own in our fluval edge already, but thought he may have wanted some company. The male we had seems to be taking to the largest juvenile, which is the same size as him, how do we know if this is courtship?? he is following her around and shaking his tail underneath her- at first he seemed to be weary, chasing her and being rather aggresive, but the behaviour has changed, and he doesn't seem to be aggressive at all, whereas she isnt paying him much attention. any help would be appreciated!!
fyi- the cichlids are approx 3-4cm in legnth
thanks
... also what algae eater would be suitable to coexist with fairy cichlids? would corydoras or plecos be OK????
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Jed & Jess

[diademhill]

Fairy cichlids are usually known as Brichardis and you will find much more info about them using the species name or looking here and they are not suitable for the tinyFluval edge tanks.
These are one of the most aggressive Tanganyikan cichlids and would shred most algae eaters even if you could keep them in compatible waters. Corydoras are not algae eaters and need softer water.

Please return the cichlids and tell us more about your tank and what you wish to keep -pretty little fish or a personality fish?

[JedAndJess]

the village aquarium we visit ( which we have visited for many years ) said our fluval 12 gallon would be fine for them, as this was our only concern.( and we trust them very much) they are the most peaceful of all cichlids, compared to the likes of the the flowerhorn and the Herichthys cyanoguttatus (which are very aggressive).. since the first encounter of the two they have been very passive since then. they are not showing any signs of aggression at all.? they are showing more signs of courtship. we owned a flowerhorn in the past and it just killed the other fish that we kept with it. so we kept it on its own, and it was happy with its own territory.
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Jed & Jess

[JedAndJess]

also Parachromis Dovii ( wolf cichlid) managunse ( jaguar ) are highly aggressive cichlids..
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Jed & Jess

[diademhill]

You have a tiny 43 litre tall tank for fish that need at least 100 litres with a large footprint.
(BTW 43 litres is less than 10 Imperial gallons)
I don't know who told you "they are the most peaceful of all cichlids" unless they possibly confused them with Rams?
A pair of Apistos or Rams may be OK in your tank but not these potentially 10cm thugs.

Size for size they are about on a par with Dovii for aggression and yes I have kept large cichlids (not flowerhorn mutts but some of the parent species) and the most aggressive cichlid I have kept was another form the same genus as your fairy cichlids.

[Flame Angel]

diademhill said they are one of the more aggressive Tanganyikan cichlids - fish like the wolf and jaguar cichlids are big American cichlids.

I (naively) have tried to keep Brichardi in a 60L long aquarium and it didn't work out, so I'm going to have to agree that the fluval edge isn't suitable - even if it is the larger model. To be honest I don't think they are suited for anything other than a lightly stocked tank with small fish. (The whole idea of them is to be more of a feature of your house/furniture, rather than focusing on the fish themselves).

You have to remember that shops are running a business - they want you to spend money. The vast, vast majority of people buying fish don't expect them to live their full lifespan, which the shop knows. They told you they would be fine in that tank because they probably will be for a little while - but in the long run there is no way it would work. If shops actually aimed for every fish they sold to live their full, healthy life, they wouldn't sell fish like silver sharks, or in particular, goldfish, on a regular basis.