Hey guys I'm new with cichlids and am trying my hand at breeding L. strappersi. It's challenging to get a hold of the little guys here but I have acquired 3 individuals of varying size over several months and have them in separate 10 gallons right now. When I put any of them together in a common aquarium (with lots of shells) there is serious non-stop aggression (combinations of displays with dark colors and head down tilting and straight out ramming and biting at one another) and I get nervous and separate them. I tried lots of rocks and visual barriers but they seek one another out and start fighting regardless. Does this mean I have all males? Or could there still be a female and they just need more space or more time to settle in? Also how much aggression should I allow? Thanks in advance!
Pairing up L. strappersi: trying to interpret aggression
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I know with other shellies that when they get to the size where aggression is this serious, you can usually differentiate m/f by size, bulk, color, etc. If you can't see any difference, and also based on behavior, it sounds like you may have all males. If one or more were females, then I think she'd be cowering in a corner, not standing her ground. But, I'm going by occelatus and ornatipinnis behavior, which I believe would be similar. If you could get a video, we might be able to confirm it.
And 10 gallons is too small for them. If you have multiple males, they will never tolerate each other in that small of a space. And a female will have nowhere to hide until accepted. You need a 20 long, at least, to do this.
And 10 gallons is too small for them. If you have multiple males, they will never tolerate each other in that small of a space. And a female will have nowhere to hide until accepted. You need a 20 long, at least, to do this.
okay thanks! I'll move to the 20 gallon...
The largest is brightly colored and looks like what I imagine to be full grown (maybe a little more than 2"). Another has color but is about 3/4 this size and another has less color and is a little smaller still. So there might still be hope for a female but they all stand their ground and fight so I'm not sure.
Am I understanding correctly that aggression is not limited to just male vs male in shellies? For instance will two females quarrel as well as a male and female? (presumable before they pair up)
The largest is brightly colored and looks like what I imagine to be full grown (maybe a little more than 2"). Another has color but is about 3/4 this size and another has less color and is a little smaller still. So there might still be hope for a female but they all stand their ground and fight so I'm not sure.
Am I understanding correctly that aggression is not limited to just male vs male in shellies? For instance will two females quarrel as well as a male and female? (presumable before they pair up)
Agreed there may be hope, but I've never seen a smaller female stand up to serious aggression from a larger male. But then again, I've not seen smaller males stand up to larger ones for long either. Depends on the level of aggession. It'd be easier to say if I could see it. Some pre-pairing 'bickering' between m/f is normal. This sounds worse though. Have you tried rocks for sight breaks?
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