[Fishandpitbulls]

It's been quite a while since I've posted here. I ended up with 3 saulosi from my old office's tank. They were threatening to flush them. :x I didn't have any tanks set up at my house, but luckily I found someone to pick them up, save them, and hold them for me while I got everything ready. So here I am...off the wagon. :lol:

Here's the issue: I've got 2 females and an extremely feisty dominant male. They are all fully grown and breeding. I have them in a 55 with about 10 different cave areas set up at various heights.

Everyone seems ok so far, but I think I need to get some more in there ASAP or he'll harass the females to death. He's not picking on one in particular and they are holding their own pretty well, but I started this tank with 2 males and 10 females and 2 years later, he's killed all but 2.

So, here's the dilemma...do I add more saulosi? I'm having trouble finding anything other than unsexed juveniles and I don't think they'd make it for very long with these 3 jerks.

Do I put in a different dwarf mbuna species like cynotilapia zebroides aka white top afra hara? Any suggestions on species and number of males and females?

Do I leave well enough alone and hope for the best?

Thanks for your help!

 

[DJRansome]

I would rehome the male and add a flock of juvenile saulosi.

 

[Fishandpitbulls]

I would rehome the male and add a flock of juvenile saulosi.

Awww, really? I hate to do that, he's such a gorgeous fish.

Can you specify what you mean by a flock?

 

[DJRansome]

Like 20.

 

[noki]

I would rehome the male and add a flock of juvenile saulosi.

Awww, really? I hate to do that, he's such a gorgeous fish.

Can you specify what you mean by a flock?

Do you mean that you only have 3 mbuna in this tank currently? This almost never works well with any Malawi cichlid.

Adding a bunch of unsexed juveniles is fine. The aggression comes from pecking order and breeding issues... a bunch of "kids" are mostly ignored since they are no threat and not ready to breed, just some mild token chasing and having a large number of fish spreads around the attention. They don't beat up small fish just to be mean, it is all about dominance and pecking order.

Now if this male really is a psycho bully, and this problem doesn't go away, you can take him out and raise a group of Saulosi without him. I wouldn't give up him yet.
Or add some different species that do not look quite the same, fill up the community with other fish. Eventually the 2 females may die and you end up with just the male.