Agression at feeding time?

[kk49827]

First of all, let me first state that I'm still kinda new to this.

I have 2 African Bumblebee cichilds. (at least I think one of them is a bumblebee, darn close if not)
One of them is definately the boss of the tank. Until recently, things were fine.

Now it seems when I approach the tank to feed them, the boss (who is larger) chases the other one away. The majority of the time he shows very little aggressive behavior. The smaller fish shows no signs of being bitten or chewed on and when they don't know I'm there, they don't seem to fight at all.

Is this activity normal? I'm afraid the smaller one won't get enough to eat because of this.

Any suggestions?

 

[colesea]

This is perfectly normal. Fish establish a heirarchy of dominace in which the top fish get the best feeding/territory/mates and the bottom fish get the bum rap.

How big is your tank? African cichlids like to be in semi-crowded condtions. The more fish you have the more equally the aggression is distributed amoung individuals. There will still be a pecking order, but the dominate fish will have so may others to chase around that the least dominate fish might be able to sneak in a grab a bite while the dominate fish is distracted.  Also with a larger number of fish it is easier to feed a bit more because the fish will usually eat more than will likely pollute the tank.

Try feeding the larger fish first until it is full, then get a net/tank divider and seperate him away from the smaller fish, then feed the smaller fish.
~~Colesea