# Decor placement & territory or no territory?



## Jana.bernard (May 27, 2020)

Hello! I have a 75gal tank. Trying to have a community tank.. but I believe I got ahead of myself and got fish that are too aggressive and will not co exist. I also have two (Juvenile)4inch long Oscars.. which I know will outgrow this tank. The tank has been set up for over 3months now with no problems.

Question #1- I have seen contradicting information regarding territories. I have a mixture of small and large breeds and probably male and females, but they are all too young to know for certain. Some say add more decor for more territories and places for fish to hide. Some say have less decor so fish cannot get extremely territorial over certain areas. We started with just the log and the two dark zebras would chase off any of the 12other fish who came too close. Today I added a new decoration to give more options. What is your opinion? Will more territories help aggression or make it worse?

Question 2- I know my decor should have enough space around them for the python, but otherwise, what is preference on placement? Should both pieces be closer to the back or centrally located? Or as far apart as possible? If so, why?

I'm providing a picture of the tank with just the log and one with the new piece.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What are the species of fish in the tank other than the Oscars? How many, what gender?


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## Jana.bernard (May 27, 2020)

2 oscars
2 yellow labs
2 blood parrots
1 red zebra
2 blue zebra
1 blotched zebra
1 Electric Blue Hap
2 Texas Cichlids
1 Bumblebee


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Welcome to Cichlid-forum!

Quite the mix. So I can advise about the Africans, but not the parrots or the New World Cichlids (Oscars and texas cichlids).

The Africans are territorial and the mbuna need the rocks. They also are harem breeders, you stock them either with no females or with 4 females (or more) for every male. This is to prevent the male from killing the female accidentally. Mbuna means rock fish.

For the mbuna, you want to fill the tank to the waterline with rocks.

Do you plan to rehome the Oscars and the texas cichlid? I don't imagine they will do well with the Africans. It is not a size issue...it is an aggression issue.

You may want to remove females among the Africans. With nothing but males, they might get along without females to fight over. Your zebras are all one genus...Metriaclima...even with just males they may fight because they are closely related and view each other as competition.

This may not happen for six to twelve months, or it could happen tomorrow.

For people who recommend housing Africans without rocks have to really crowd the fish so they can barely keep out of each other's way. I prefer something a little more natural. Overcrowd enough to manage aggression (with territories) but no further.


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## Jana.bernard (May 27, 2020)

I will definitely get rocks then. I do love the tanks that have rocks only. Should I get rid of the other decorations entirely? I would Ideally like to keep all my fish in the current tank, but I'm sure that is not realistic. I unfortunately do not have room for additional tanks. I definitely made the mistake of getting a lot of pretty fish and not fully researching first. But I plan to do whatever is right for the fish.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I think you need to decide Oscars or Africans or Texas Cichlids. Then decide about the rocks...the new world cichlids may need a different aquascape.


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## Jana.bernard (May 27, 2020)

You are right, it's just so hard to decide. It's so overwhelming how much goes into this. But it's been really exciting learning and researching. I just should have done more research before I got what I did.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

One oscar will pretty much fill up a 75 size wise, alot of people even say it's too small for one. I would decide which you like more and go from there. Its slot easier to get rid of small fish now than it is to get rid of larger fish later.


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