Hi!
I recently started a new aquarium setup with two small (1 inch/ 2.5 cm) polar parrot cichlids. It seems that the one is male and the other is female, but I may be mistaken. At first they were doing fine, but then it seemed that the one cichlid was dominating the other, so I provided more hiding spaces (caves, more plants, etc.). Still it seemed that chasing and biting was taking place between them, so I separated them by placing a tank divider in the aquarium. The colors of the cichlid in the smaller tank divider dulled, but at least they weren't fighting. The last 2 weeks I noticed they were constantly interacting with each other through the divider, so I put them together again to see if it will be ok... 5 minutes later and they both had vibrant colors, while one cichlid (presumably the male) turned quite red and the female (whom I had separated) turned more blue. However, they were lip locking constantly... is this aggression or mating behavior? I am unsure if I should keep them together or keep them separated... They seem healthier looking when placed together (in terms of vibrant colors) but are lip locking. Any advice would be appreciated!
I recently started a new aquarium setup with two small (1 inch/ 2.5 cm) polar parrot cichlids. It seems that the one is male and the other is female, but I may be mistaken. At first they were doing fine, but then it seemed that the one cichlid was dominating the other, so I provided more hiding spaces (caves, more plants, etc.). Still it seemed that chasing and biting was taking place between them, so I separated them by placing a tank divider in the aquarium. The colors of the cichlid in the smaller tank divider dulled, but at least they weren't fighting. The last 2 weeks I noticed they were constantly interacting with each other through the divider, so I put them together again to see if it will be ok... 5 minutes later and they both had vibrant colors, while one cichlid (presumably the male) turned quite red and the female (whom I had separated) turned more blue. However, they were lip locking constantly... is this aggression or mating behavior? I am unsure if I should keep them together or keep them separated... They seem healthier looking when placed together (in terms of vibrant colors) but are lip locking. Any advice would be appreciated!
