The reason I ask is that my female Jag somehow managed to jump out of her tank while I was at work today and passed away, right before she was about to spawn again. Now I have a male Jag and a male GT occupying a 75g tank. Since there is no longer going to be any breeding, I removed the divider from the tank.
As I sit here typing this, my GT and Jag are liplocked in a struggle for dominance. On one hand, I think, well, it's only natural. Even clown loaches fight it out when it comes to deciding who is superior, as most fish seem to do. But on the other hand, I don't keep these large cichlids to fight them, and I don't get my kicks from them fighting (although it is interesting to watch their methods). I certainly don't want either fish to die, as I've spend a lot of time rearing them and they are both absolutely wonderful fish to keep. I look and see the behavior behind the fish and recognize that these fish are born to do some amount of fighting in their day.
I personally believe that they can coexist, as neither appear to be overly aggressive, or the kill-everything-that-moves kind of aggressive (I know that my GT is not this kind of fish). I know from the 2+ years I've kept my GT that he easily coexists with other fish, although he does like to be "the man," and suffers substantially when he isn't. What is your opinion on this matter? Not necessarily my fish, but any cichlid. Should cichlids be placed in a position that could result in fighting as a result of their nature (given appropriate tank sizes)? Or is it the responsibility of the fishkeeper to intervene and prevent any and all fighting?
As I sit here typing this, my GT and Jag are liplocked in a struggle for dominance. On one hand, I think, well, it's only natural. Even clown loaches fight it out when it comes to deciding who is superior, as most fish seem to do. But on the other hand, I don't keep these large cichlids to fight them, and I don't get my kicks from them fighting (although it is interesting to watch their methods). I certainly don't want either fish to die, as I've spend a lot of time rearing them and they are both absolutely wonderful fish to keep. I look and see the behavior behind the fish and recognize that these fish are born to do some amount of fighting in their day.
I personally believe that they can coexist, as neither appear to be overly aggressive, or the kill-everything-that-moves kind of aggressive (I know that my GT is not this kind of fish). I know from the 2+ years I've kept my GT that he easily coexists with other fish, although he does like to be "the man," and suffers substantially when he isn't. What is your opinion on this matter? Not necessarily my fish, but any cichlid. Should cichlids be placed in a position that could result in fighting as a result of their nature (given appropriate tank sizes)? Or is it the responsibility of the fishkeeper to intervene and prevent any and all fighting?
