Tropical Fish Keeping banner

my cichlids fighting

5K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  willieturnip 
#1 ·
#5 ·
Um I don't think its good to let them fight like that but I do not own Ciclids. Seems barberick like stupid cock fights and dog fights among other things.
 
#7 ·
If you take a look at my pictures of the tank, there are a lot of hiding areas.

Not they do not always fight like that. Its quite rare.

Both fish are fine.

The pleco was not sucking on the slime coat.

I have had these fish for 3 years now and if I was not taking care of them properly, they wouldn't be alive now. I know when intervention is needed. I hate how everyone always has to complain about everything.
 
#8 ·
f you take a look at my pictures of the tank, there are a lot of hiding areas.

Not they do not always fight like that. Its quite rare.

Both fish are fine.

The pleco was not sucking on the slime coat.

You cant compare a dog or cock fight to cichlids. I did not purposely set them up to fight each other and they did not fight to the death nor did they even injure each other. If you watch the video both fishes fins are in perfect condition, no rips or tears whatsoever. The fish are fighting because it is something that they do.

I have had these fish for 3 years now and if I was not taking care of them properly, they wouldn't be alive now. I know when intervention is needed. I hate how everyone always has to complain about everything.
 
#10 ·
no one is complaining.....we all here are fish lovers. i cant speak for everyone on this matter but only for myself. i am an all around avid animal lover,especially pitbulls, i work at an animal hospital as a veterinary technician and to be the strong advocate i am to stop dog fighting....or anykind of animal fighting it disturbs me to see that you seemingly got enjoyment of posting a video of your fish fighting and from what i did see of the video you did nothing to stop it....whether or not they are ok.....but, as twistersmom said you seem to have it ll under control and i am pleased to hear that your fish are still in good health and you obviously take great care of them to of have them as long as you have.....animal fighting is just a very touchy subject to me...
 
#11 ·
my fish were not bred or trained to fight each other. I did not force it upon them to fight each other. They did it on their own.
I volunteer with the aspca and see dogs that have been fought on a regular basis. Comparing a cichlids natural behavior to dogs that have been bred, trained, and tortured to go through something so horrible is absolutely ridiculous.
 
#12 ·
I will agree with you on that ThalesthePearsei. I have alot of cichlids and they do the exact same thing. expesily when its breeding time. That is how they say im domint male. THE KING of the tank.
 
#13 ·
i understand now.....sorry for the misunderstanding. I guess since i dont own aggressive fish i am a little ignorant to that matter....again as i said in my previous post, you obviously take great care of your fish....

And thank you for giving your time to your local SPCA, it is people like you who help make sure those animals get the proper care they need and have a better life then what they may of had before
 
#14 ·
providing us with a video of your fish fighting and posting it with no questions is sorta of promoting fish fighting......What good came from you posting the video?..........some not so caring fish keepers could find this interesting and try it themselves.....I understand this is the cichlids natural behaviour, showing it first hand is not responsible behaviour..........Yes, these fish are aggressive and yes, they will fight and kill one another from time to time......I had africans for 20 years and lost some to aggression and the fighting is not always from breeding......displaying a video of fish fighting doe not do the hobby any good, when new aquarists see this they could either be turned off to cichlids or worse yet, someone with bad morals and ethics could find this as appealing as fighting dogs...........my intent here is not to berate you over your video, but in all honesty what good came from posting it?
 
#16 ·
here here fishin pole well said...... natural behavior on display is one thing but with out explanation many could take it the wrong way.... i am glad your fish are well and i also am glad that many others have made their points as well... awareness needs to spread....
 
#17 ·
i thought that it was pretty interesting to see personally. never seen that before. i think its pretty neat that you were actually able to see what these fish rarely do naturally anyway. good catch (no pun intended) IMO
 
#19 ·
I don't really see a problem. Though I agree you could of added more to your first post. I see how some could be offended by it. Cichlids will be cichlids though. They are aggressive and will fight each other and that is natural for them. I have a video on youtube with 2 female swordtails fighting. I'm not sure what there problems were, but they were both really aggressive for swordtails. To the point were I couldn't keep them in the same tank.


As far as real fish fighting, like betta fighting. I suggest we keep away from that. I've seen that its a good way to get a thread locked on other forums. Mainly because its just a repeating argument. Both sides can be supported and people will never see eye to eye.
 
#21 ·
Thank You.

I just brought home my new foster dog, whom was a previous unwilling participant in the fighting world, and her scars are much more than physical. I still can not believe someone would compare her suffering to a couple of mbunas doing what comes natural to them every once in a while.

Oh well, this topic is exhausted. Moving on. :|
 
#20 ·
is its in there dna to fight its nothing new my oscar firemouth have there issue once or twice day then there ok like married couple
 
#25 ·
Once or twice a day isn't healthy or natural at all. That needs sorting pronto, before one of the two is dead.

In a good cichlid habitat, they should essentially just have the one fight. This establishes the dominant male and the victor is respected.

After 6 months or so, substantial growth or a change is circumstances (new fish introduced, change tank decor etc) another "fight" may and probably will break out to establish the new dominant male.


Regular fights however, especially between the same fish, are not natural and preventative measures should be taken.
 
#23 ·
I would just like to chime in and say that cichlid fighting of this nature is natural and I back the author of this thread absolutely.

Something many people don't realize is that cichlid keeping is VASTLY different in small and large tanks. If this behavior was evident in a smaller tank then intervention would be necessary.
 
#24 ·
congrats on the new dog!! I hope her time with you will help her/him regain some good social behavior and eventually find her way into someones heart and forever home!!

regarding willieturnips post......with no explanation other than "my cichlids fighting" it came across as something other then what it actually was....if the author of this post had said something to the affect of "cichlid behavoir" or gave some more info on the cichlids and how people who keep or want to keep them should be aware that this is only natural for them and then go in to when intervention is needed, THEN i hightly doubt it would have had such an initial negative response...it would have been more a learning tool then seemingly and advert for fish fighting
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top