# malawi eye biter questions



## jordan_101 (Mar 21, 2010)

Has any one put aneye biter in a hap peacock tank and had luck with no missng eyes plz let me know I'm interested in getting one for my tank but can find much about them thanks in advance


----------



## dkreef (May 23, 2008)

i had one that was very aggressive and one that is very mild. 
so hit and miss. if u got a bigger hap than him, he should do fine.


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Not sure where they got the eye biter name from. They don't actually bite eyes. They can be fairly aggressive though.


----------



## dkreef (May 23, 2008)

actually they bite eyes but doesnt happen often in tanks.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

All Malawi bite eyes though, LOL. I have a Demasoni born in my tank with one eye.


----------



## jordan_101 (Mar 21, 2010)

So most people have had luck with them


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

dkreef said:


> actually they bite eyes but doesnt happen often in tanks.


What do you mean by this?


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

jordan_101 said:


> So most people have had luck with them


Yes, they are just like any other large Haplochromine. They can be aggressive, but no more so than others. Just keep in mind they can easily get to 10"...


----------



## jordan_101 (Mar 21, 2010)

That's fine **** be in a 150g I have in my signature minus all the mbuna because the are raising not only my stress but the stress of all my fish so as I catch them they are surendered lol but let me know what you think of that stock list


----------



## solgood (Sep 23, 2009)

You will need a big tank 125 gal. +. They get about 10 inches. Here is my 7 or 8 inch male. Hes not very mean but he has eaten some of my small Demasoni "the only Mbuna in the tank"


----------



## jordan_101 (Mar 21, 2010)

I said he'll be going in my 5x2x2 150g all male tank and he'll be going in as a 2 inch juvi


----------



## K5MOW (Apr 19, 2010)

Nice looking fish.

Roger



solgood said:


> You will need a big tank 125 gal. +. They get about 10 inches. Here is my 7 or 8 inch male. Hes not very mean but he has eaten some of my small Demasoni "the only Mbuna in the tank"


----------



## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

The eye eating reputation seems to have come from some article years ago, in which the author thought it might attack eyes for some reason... and the colorful name stuck.

The Compressiceps is a very good predator... they are kept like most larger Haps. Put a Compressiceps in with some silvery juveniles like Copadichromis, and the Compressiceps will slowly stalk them, even if it's not big enough to swallow them.


----------



## jordan_101 (Mar 21, 2010)

Ok well then screw that idea cuz I have a nice one and I don't want him to be lunch


----------



## PoloGreenMachine (May 18, 2010)

yea as long as your start it off from a juvy it should be fine.

my eye biter was small like 2 inches and he was really shy...always stayed near the top away from the venustus.


----------



## jordan_101 (Mar 21, 2010)

I would hope he stays away from my super vc 10, livingstoni and venustus cus they don't take **** from no one they bite me while I clean around their territory and they're only juvis I'm scared to clean my tank when they become full grown like I've cleaned pirhana tanks and only been bit once I clean this tank and I get bit on a weekly bases


----------



## solgood (Sep 23, 2009)

noki said:


> The eye eating reputation seems to have come from some article years ago, in which the author thought it might attack eyes for some reason... and the colorful name stuck.
> 
> The Compressiceps is a very good predator... they are kept like most larger Haps. Put a Compressiceps in with some silvery juveniles like Copadichromis, and the Compressiceps will slowly stalk them, even if it's not big enough to swallow them.


My Comp. in a tank with a group of 16 1.25 inch Demasoni. I first added a group of 8 that i won at an action and he eat 6. Then i added 14 more and he eat 1. Now its been about a month and he has given up tying to catch them, but he still hunts them. My Comp. is about 7.5 inches.


----------



## firenzena (Nov 29, 2009)

My guy is 7-8" and is with Azureus, lithobates, Red empress males of same size and assted peacocks 4-6", plus on 5" Polystigma.

Also I have E yellows from 2" up and which haven't been eaten.
I even had a pair of Daffodil breed in tank(150g) and a few fry get to an inch before I cleaned tank and scooped them.

The poly will still do the 'lay and wait' and the Comp the "hover and stalk" though and as stated above I think a silvery hap or peacock of 2" that doesn't stick to the rockslike the yellows do, then they would be targets. 
Predatory fish go into their natural instictive modes for sure, even if they don't finish what they start.


----------

