2 Lamprologus tretocephalus FIGHTING!!!

[jiminy_crime]

I have a 10 gal. tank with a Penguin 125 filter on it with a submersible heater in it. I recently purchased a 2 Lamprologus tretocephalus for the tank and have had them about 2 days. One of the fish is constantly harassing the other and biting is fins. The one being bitten is almost always in the top corner of the tank. I got a breeding net and have one presently placed in the breeding net. Does anyone have any idea as to what I should do? They are quite young and am not sure that my lfs will let me trade it in for anything else.

Gratefully,

Charlie

 

[1979camaro]

my thought is that they are both male...if this is the case, the problem will only go away when one is dead...sorry

incidentally that is way to small a tank (in my opinion) for a fish that will grow to that size even if you were keeping a m/f pair...try looking for some of the small L. Tanganyika cichlids and keeping only one male at a time if you want to leave them in a 10gal...to keep two males of that size together I would get at least a 20gal long tank and you will need females

i suggest this for reading material: http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_10g.php

Kevin

 

[mike the zealot]

umm...well

the thing with trets is they are a) an awesome fish (my favorite african) and b) vicious. You can't keep more than 1 male in a tank, or the weaker one(s) will be eliminated (killed.) One male will usually do alright with other fish, but once you throw a female in there, they form an evil supervillain team and eliminate (kill) every other fish in the tank.

the other thing with trets is they get about 6" full grown. A 10 gallon isn't sufficient. I would say 55 gallons bare minimum, but would really recommend the larger front to back dimensions of a 75 gallon (i am waiting to get my tret for this very reason, even though I had a 55 gallon available)

another thing is that they require a hard water with a high pH (above 8).

I would recommend taking them back, or if you're stuck on trets (can't blame you ) , take the weak one back and get a big tank for the strong one.

If the LFS told you 10 gallons would be ok for 2 very aggressive african cichlids that grow to 6", I would seriously not give them any more of my business, they're dorks.

If you want a good african cichlid to keep in a 10 gallon, try shelldwellers or julidochromis, but even still, get your info before you go to the LFS, lest you be persuaded by them to host a colony of frontosa in your 10 gallon.

=)