[Keeper_of_Cichlids]

It seems my paired J. transcriptus have divorced after yesterday's water change (~60%). After some fighting, the female drove the male out of their cave. I was hoping there was enough space and rock work for the male to reside, but the female actively seeks him out to pick at him. The male is now in the upper corner of the tank.

I would hate for him to get bullied to death and am hoping anyone has some advice on what to do. I have spare tanks (20 long), but do not have anything set up to be able to move anyone at the moment. Is there anything I can do to help them find love again? Will they naturally pair back up, or are broken bonds permanent?

If not, should I fill a 20L and move one of my filters over for the bullied male? It would be bare-bottom with no lights or decorations.

The earliest I would be able to set up something up for him to permanently live in would be tomorrow morning. Thanks for any advice!

Tank:
55 gal with two aq70's
8 X P. nigripinnis
1 X A. Calvus
2 X J. transcriptus
1 X Bristlenose pleco
*all fish are juveniles

pH: 8.2 0/0/5

 

[Keeper_of_Cichlids]

Hi, and thank you for the feedback!

I started with 2. Prior to this water change, they showed no signs of aggression and seemed to readily pair up. Maybe I misread their behavior (see video from 1 month ago), but I'll definitely move one out ASAP. Are you aware of some bonds forming back once broken?

 

[Keeper_of_Cichlids]

Here's what I'm referring to-
https://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/ ... hp?id=1537

It's a dwarf form of Marlieri. I do have some, but no pictures to share.

Heheheh ... interesting ... :thumb:

Those look a lot like the "Zambia" transcriptus I have.

I'm going to have to do some studying up to properly differentiate.

The original ones I bought as J. transcriptus look like the fish in my avatar.

My pair were also sold as transcriptus "Zambia". Here's a more recent image of the aggressor since the video didn't work:

Regardless, thanks you for your advice! I set up the 20 and now I just have to pull out all the rock work to net one of them. :?