How the Hell Is There PEACE in My African Cichlid Tank?

[@CichlidCharmer]

How do you keep peace in your tanks? Let everyone know 😊

[@leoshears6222]

I do it by not having african cichlids

[@mitymac]

@@leoshears6222😂

[@nletner413]

I chose 5 red hooks for dither fish in my tank. Sweet content 🤙🏽

[@CichlidCharmer]

@@nletner413 Nice. Thank you!

[@CichlidCharmer]

@@leoshears6222 That's definitely one way that works really well!

[@Shadow-wn5fw]

Great video as always. Always helpful info. I had never thought about naming my tank. Outstanding idea. I look forward to seeing your next mbuna video. 😊

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thank you. My mbuna are doing great, and another video on them will be coming up

[@lastditch727]

Love your content man. One of my favorite aquarium channels.

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thank you! Really appreciated 🥰

[@Juanchodiazz]

Great video !

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thank you!

[@scottgordin9709]

I like the “less is more” approach when it comes to African cichlid tank set ups, I also like the way you named your aquariums. We call our Mbuna tank the “Asylum tank”, cause we all know Mbuna are nuts and we call our Peacock/Hap tank “Stonehenge”, cause of the huge rocks I have in there.

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thank you. I absolutely love your tanks names 😂

[@irishbull65]

Helpful vid. Agree with you on no eyebitter. I had one and was really cool, but he was hell on the others. Also, I’ve not sworn off all peacocks, but ob peacocks. I’ve had bad luck with anything “mutant”. Pure breed only in my tank.

[@CichlidCharmer]

"mutant" 😂

[@Jake-ur2wf]

That's the dream right there. All the beauty none of the aggression.

[@larryeans4072]

David you had me laughing out loud on this Sat am. I’ve been out for double digit years and I’ve been eyeing a 240 Vizio down at our big box store here in Phoenix 101 25 deal fell in my lap online for a really inexpensive price. So what I’m saying is I got my second tank first before my first tank lol. I’m getting back in because all I had before was in Bass and there was a lot of regression and there was loss and that’s what I thought I was gonna get back into then I started seeing how amazingly beautiful all these peacocks are. I didn’t think anybody could be as as the Mbuna especially the auratus. I thought for sure you had a tank with peacocks. Keep cracking me up my friend. I enjoy the videos and I’ve been watching so many just being excited. I’m waiting for new bulkhead to come in so I can reseal the bottom of the tank to assure it’s perfect long-term and I’ll get it in the house and I’ll be taking my time setting it up.I’ll maybe share a picture down the road

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thanks! You're on your way back to MTS lol

[@ZackGreensReptiles]

Feeding smaller meals twice a day I feel helps tremendously! Just like me, my guys get hangry. I have tried my luck with dimidiochromis and will never get another, between the eyebiter amd kiwinge, i lost some of my favorite fish before infigured out who it was.

[@CichlidCharmer]

Yeah I would hate to eat once per day too lol. The dimidiochromis are the bad boys.

[@drewandres2065]

Love this tank…keep up the good work

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thank you!

[@ShannonSerena-p9n]

I have a South American Cichlid tank. For my tank I feed twice a day, the morning feeding is small the evening feeding is the big one. I also move around the decor when I change the water. During the holidays I add a piece of holiday decorations so right now I have a jacko lantern in the tank. Last but not least I have a big tank, its 8 feet long, two feet high, and two feet wide. The fish ge a long just fine.I hope this helps.

[@4417t]

I personally don't find the alcatraz scape boring. I think it works well blending with black background and allowing the fish to actually shine. My 2 cents. Both are beautiful tanks and nice scapes if you ask me!

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thank you. I'm not bored by it because at least there is some sort of scape and the fish are the main attraction.

[@stefanosahretis5075]

Hi David, Great advice for keeping nut jobs, what worked for me with my nut jobs was NO females , enough food for everyone(be careful of bloat), buy all your fish the same SIZE and only add same size ,they don’t get aggressive while the juveniles as long they’re not in competition for food. Most of all any fish carrying a parasite or any type of skin flukes ich will get picked on especially if having swimming issues.I have 4 lights on my 210 but all are on for 2 hours the rest of the day is 1 light with natural light coming in from a window which I can adjust with blinds . The dark knight rises , Awesome movie good choice

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thanks Stefano's. Those are good tips of yours. I actually add fish when they are smaller than the current inmates but too big to become food. They are almost always completely ignored.

[@DatdudeTyM11]

Boss Dude!!!

[@DatdudeTyM11]

Getting ready to s/u a 90g. I'm going with Mbuna. I had a 55g 20+. years ago, and this is my re-intro to something I fell in love with. At any rate your vids are awesome!!! Thanks again!

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thanks 😊

[@horacespencer3249]

I have two peaceful mixed African and American cichlids tanks for years

[@HapiPETSWM]

Perfect! I have a great tank with 31 fish that all get along, mostly, like you said, there’s sometimes that they just rub eachother the wrong way. And there is a hundred ways to deter aggression. The one that works is the one that makes the difference, and don’t worry about keeping big fish that are almost too big. Until you see the stress on the fish it’s personified onto them, this being said I would like to find a home for my sharks… just fed them a fish fillet this morning 😳…. Ya THAT BIG! lol 😂 great video and great fish! Stay happy and healthy my friend! 😊❤

[@CichlidCharmer]

All good advice -- thank you. Sounds like you have some REALLY BIG fish lol. Good to hear from you as always.

[@HapiPETSWM]

@@CichlidCharmerya I do and it’s awesome but it’s a lot too. This being said I’m sorry that you had such a hard time with peacocks, and I hear it from everyone. The tank with 31 fish in is mostly peacocks with 7 haps and ya the peacocks do compete with one another but I also keep an Oscar in that tank. It’s not a trick, you may have to get wet to I sure feeding but no my 9” albino does marvellous in that tank. Jeeze I just about went on a rant about all my tanks… time to make a video perhaps?

[@CichlidCharmer]

@@HapiPETSWM LOL, it would be awesome if you would make a video and put it on your channel, but even better if you would also post it in the Cichlid Charmer Fish Keepers FB group.

[@johanras1]

Purely by chance I have been doing the same and never lost a fish or even had ine injured during a fight. I have one fish that lost an eye, which I assume was due to another fish. This is over the course of about 1.5 years with the same setup. I must say I recently upgraded from a 6ft to a 9ft and even the short chases have decreased dramatically. Have about 25 fish in a 300G aquarium.

[@dannyaquatics]

Great video my friend.

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thanks, Danny 🥰

[@jasonhowell6281]

76 degrees has been my sweet spot for both African tank mbunas and peacock/Hap tanks. If I go over 78 they all get more aggressive.

[@jasonhowell6281]

I also feed twice a day. I do Veggie Flacks with mix diet pellets mid day. Then feed Bloodwarms before lights go out at night.

[@nandakumarsubash]

In my experience wavemaker helps to reduce aggression a lot, and some hiding spaces. Unfortunately I can never achieve the ideal temperature in my tank because of the place where I live. But I also hear from hobbyists that there is no need to worry about it's ideal temperature as they were captive bred and could adjust to a wide range of temperature than its natural environment.

[@CichlidCharmer]

I agree about the wave maker. I actually have two Alcatraz, but the video was too long already lol. They will adjust to a wide temp range, but they just get more feisty the warmer it is. Thanks for the comment!

[@markbaumgardt2868]

I'm the same I don't give a crap what they want the cooler the better no breeding mode in Australia were I'm at I keep them at 26 degrees Celsius I have known that as the sweet spot that's my two cents on cents on it love your vids bro

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thanks!

[@timadams306]

I'm definitely hooked in the inkbjrd 306A wifi. Didn't know they had a 106A?

[@CichlidCharmer]

That was a mistake. It's the 306a.

[@MiamiObi]

Great video as always. How do you keep the bottom of these long tanks clean???

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thank you! I do have wave makers going and that helps a lot.

[@jsiqueblue4948]

I think 79 would be ideal but that is impossible in Arizona. My tanks about 81 right now on my heater is not on at all.

[@davejenkins4534]

There are 2 duboisi's at my work that are kinda miserable! i have room in my Mbuna tank, and close to the same size. I know they're from lake Tanganyika but is seems that they need very similar peramiters. I dont want them to die or live at my store for ever!

[@CichlidCharmer]

Maybe rehome on Facebook if you have a local group

[@joeking8698]

I have a peaceful tank as well, it’s nice!!

[@CichlidCharmer]

Excellent!

[@dermentzoglouagapios9480]

Nice tips, trying to apply them all together cause there are times that aggression rises dramatically, i even quarantined the leader for 3 days to chill cause he kept hitting my dolphin all day. From what you said about the eye biters, i have 2 inside but they are much smaller that the other fish i got and currently i don't have any aggression problem with them. Though, i wanted to ask you something different than the topic of this video. These fish want to eat all the time and produce too much waste, i do 50% change every week and i still get about 80 nitrates at the last day. What else should i do? Cut feeding in half? Is that proper for small fish? Half if my fish are about 10cm. All my fish are peacocks and haps.

[@CichlidCharmer]

Good question. So if your fish are all getting some food and it's gone in about 30 seconds, that should be good. I would do two water changes in a week and see where you are at. It might catch you up. Sometimes I have to do an extra change mid week also.

[@johanras1]

I wpuld appreciate some advice. I am from South Africa and struggle to get Northfin.. I feed Hikari and a local so called "vitamin" powder that I mix with the food. This helped bring out the colours a lot, but I don't know if this is the best option. How do I select a good quality food for Haps and Peacocks?

[@CichlidCharmer]

What a great question. Look at the first three or four ingredients in the list. They should be quality food ingredients like krill meal, fish meal, etc. Fillers and binders like wheat should not be in the top three. Also look on reddit for some ideas. Don't believe all you read there, but you'll find some food brands you can research.

[@pollylewis9611]

Great advice, funny my Peacocks and Haps are getting along pretty well for the most part, we all know my meanest guy the Maingano and now the Jalo Reef is stirring the Pot in my Happy Acres tank I'm keeping an eye on him if he doesn't stop I have a nice friend he can spend some time with Satan- ManMan. I like to keep only males too other than the 100+ oops babies from a female that I was told was a male, now the two are split up, I know mean of me. Oh, I have a question have you ever had a fish go missing, my Unholy Devil Child "Jerk" the Demasoni I can't find him he's too big to get sucked out when vacuuming substrate, I haven't found bits and pieces anywhere, since I drained and moved the tank his dried-up carcass isn't anywhere, he hid in a hut all the time but it is solid with no holes he could go up into, it's just like he vanished back into dark abyss he came from. Movie was already said here lol, Thanks for all your info on how to handle these crazy Cichlids.

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thanks, Polly. My eel goes missing every day. I even remove all the rocks and drag my fingers through the substrate -- every inch of the tank -- and she's nowhere to be found. Turn off the light, and an hour later, there she is in her rocks. Other than that, I always eventually at least find a skeleton, or someone who jumped out on the floor.

[@pollylewis9611]

@@CichlidCharmer Crazy eel, makes one wonder where she hides. I still haven't found "Jerk" maybe the rest had enough of him, came together and had a nice snack.

[@CichlidCharmer]

@@pollylewis9611 Like "Bug's Life," where the ants gang up on the grasshoppers. They don't destroy and eat the grasshoppers though.

[@mikezizis3725]

Very beautiful - and thank you for the whimsy! Here are my $.02. I add vitamin B complex to my aquariums and it calms everyone down and magically brightens colors. I have a 9 foot aquarium - about 240 gallons. Two B complex pills and aloe vera plus water into a blender - Magic! Even the Best Foods lose some of their vitality during transport and storage. Before you curse me for making your water green or yellow, the color disappears in less than12 hours. I also add other vitamins but none seem to have the effect of Multiple B. Aloe vera adds to their slime coating and comfort. Adding sleepy time tea out of the tea bag and into the blender adds another buffer against bullying. Calm the waters!

[@CichlidCharmer]

Thank you!

[@bluecollarfox913]

I’m shocked you don’t have a star sapphire!!! Cousin of your white lips and dolphin. I’m have a young adult that’s just starting to chip up. Gorgeous fish

[@CichlidCharmer]

You're right! I used to have one and would love another. Unfortunately, none were available when I placed my last order.

[@tulioalopez]

hi I have very few cichlids 2 yellow labs, 2 ob zebras, and 1 red zebra, and by saturday im buying about (6) 3 inches yellow lab. A friend is selling me one Mbuna blue Colt and 1 Mundola gold. Will they get aggressive because is only 1 of each speally with th 3 inches?

[@CichlidCharmer]

I would think the two zebras would be more aggressive than anyone due to conspecific aggression

[@anklennrayetagal5783]

i got a question can i put my convic cichlid into my african mbuna cichlid 75gallon tank?

[@CichlidCharmer]

Not recommended.

[@ricknelson4793]

I have one inmate that is pissing me off right now lol. Afraid if I remove him another one will acquire his temperament 🙈

[@CichlidCharmer]

That fear is a good one lol

[@louiewgroenewald]

I have a very peaceful tank too. No problems at all. Only when introducing new fish to keep up stock levels. There is always one to 3 fish that don't make it over night. Completely killed and half eaten up. The next morning, when introducing new mbunas. Of some of the new ones can survive for about a month or so then everything goes back to being peaceful again. The existing ones even go so far as to bite holes through the bag during acclimating time. Been keeping african cichlids for about 4 years now. And this is the only problem I have. Taking them all out for a few ours and add them together on again does not work for me. They're too clever and still seek out the newly added ones. Any suggestions?

[@CichlidCharmer]

Yours sound like they are ultra aggressive, but try adding smaller fish to the tank in groups of three or more. When I add juvies (too big to be eaten, but still on the smaller side) they get overlooked by everyone. No need for them to reset the hierarchy.

[@louiewgroenewald]

@@CichlidCharmer thanks I add normally 4 new fish at a time. Sometimes 5. I went for smaller ones now. And all 4 is now dead within two days. I'll try again sometime.

[@CichlidCharmer]

@@louiewgroenewald Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. I've never experienced any aggression toward my smaller additions. They are considerably smaller, though. Like half the size of the others in the tank. Just too large to be eaten.

[@louiewgroenewald]

@CichlidCharmer thanks for the reply. I'll go a bit smaller next time. And also thinking of getting about 10 then, instead of 4 or 5. Also feeding the others first. As they seem calmer after feeding time in general. And removing them all and adding all together after a few hours. I heard from someone else not to move the Scape around as they might end up fighting for a spot in the aquarium. So I'll feed them, leave everything as is, take them out, and after a few hours add them all together in again. I am at the point of wondering if you don't get some tranqualizing drops or something that can calm my existing mbunas down for a month or so until all is settled. Like the catnip does to my cats😅

[@irishbull65]

I had a few years with mbuna, but switched to peacock/haps a few years ago. I love mbuna and how they behave, but they’re SOB’s. Some are so aggressive you literally can’t have another male in there or they’re toast, so make sure you’ve researched on the type you’re adding. I’ve always found moving scape helps.

[@MrMurad1981]

I have tried that when I put a large number of cichlid fish in the tank, their aggression decreases significantly. I am talking from actual experience.😉

[@IDMRPodcast]

The dark Knight Rises

[@CichlidCharmer]

Well done.

[@PriceTagAquariums]

​@@CichlidCharmerHe beat me to it lol

[@timadams306]

Is there a minimum number of fish that seem to help?

[@CichlidCharmer]

It's really more about the personalities of the fish. Rehoming the super aggressive ones. You do want enough that it isn't as easy to target one single fish, but tank size has a lot to do with that too.

[@BrittanyBauer-py6in]

I HAVE SOUTH AMERICA CICHILD AND AFRICAN CICHLID TOGETHER PEACOCK AND HAP MUBNA CICHLID

[@cichlids253]

78 is a perfect temp you only want higher like 81 if treating disease or want to start them breeding but with all males no need and I keep aggression down by only keeping a single fish 😂one tank has a single green terror (white saum) and the other has two but eventually probably gonna be one

[@CichlidCharmer]

Hard to fight when there's no one else in the room lol. Except maybe a reflection.

[@JimWeaving-ty6tr]

Do you ever worry about your fish getting bored and picking fights because they've got nothing better to do? I vote for a complex environment and live food as good ways to keep fish happy instead of homicidal. 😁

[@CichlidCharmer]

Always good for fish that can handle it. These guys are fast swimmers who need a lot of open space. Less is more with these guys. Normally complex would be wonderful -- it just depends on the types of fish. Thanks for the comment!

[@matman429]

Im Batman

[@CichlidCharmer]

Excellent

[@UNAL0504]

Batman

[@CichlidCharmer]

Yep!

[@ddaquarium3531]

The only reason you not having aggression is because your tank is established everyone knows there place. add 2 new fishes in there and see what happens lol

[@CichlidCharmer]

I actually just added four fish a few months ago and there was no increased aggression at all. However, I do add them when they are smaller than the established inmates.