# Anomalochromis thomasi aggression question



## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

hey everyone, how aggressive are these guys towards other fish?

i have a 29g west african biotope tank, with 2 african butterfly fish (1M:1F) (Pantodon buchholzi), and a Baby Whale (Petrocephalus bovei).

now, the baby whale spends his time on the bottom, id like a pair of these to produce live food for him, but if i catch them chase him they are out, i have always had a soft spot for baby whales, and the last thing i will let happen is have them torturing him.

granted, if they only pick a very small breeding spot and keep things out of a small spot i guess it is not to bad, but i dont want continuous chasing or they are gone.

so my questions:

1) When breeding, will they continuously chase anything on the bottom? or will they stick to a small breeding ground (preferably only 5" squared) and only keep guard on that spot?

2) are there any other peaceful very small west african cichlids you can think of? (needs to be west african, it is a biotope after all) i know kribs are to aggressive when breeding, as the baby whale can barely see at all, he relies on an electrical organ, not vision, which is why i want no aggression.

3) worst comes to worst, are they peaceful when on there own? (not breeding)

4) how "on the food" are they when feeding, the baby whale has trouble finding food, so i may have to over feed and do lots of water changes.

5) can you guys think of other fish in general that are small and would fit in nice? im probably adding a Ctenopoma or Microctenopoma spp soon (bushfish)

any additional info/pics of the African butterfly jewels would be great!


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

The maybe dwarves, but they are jewels in full force!!

Mine were fine with tankmates before my two paired up. Then they took over half of my 3' 38 gallon tank (so about a 18"x15" area). They also became the dominate fish in the tank, even over the pike cichlids to which prior to breeding they were deffinately the submissive fish. Which it was a bit tough watching 2 jewels and 4 pikes being stuffed into one side of the tank.

They pounce the food, are nice and quick much like their larger cousins. Deffinately go with a Ctenopoma, I wouldn't trust them with the dwarf Micro's. Before pairing, they were fine with the other fish (rummynose and the pikes) but not each other. Of course, the pairing took less than a week in the tank.

As much as I love these fish (probably my favorite westies), I wouldn't recommend them with your baby whale.

Alas, no pics. I really should get a camera. :lol: They are very beautiful though.


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## Nebraska_cichlids (Dec 16, 2005)

Believe it or not, I found my breeding pair of Steatocranus tinanti to be extremely peaceful. They are cute to watch too.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

Steatocranus are panzies, and a fav of mine, but they are from fast flowing rivers.

so no go on the dwarves huh? darn, i gotta find something slow moving! i wish leaf fish were african!


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## madzarembski (Jul 3, 2008)

Hi Gage

I just picked up a pair of Thomasi the other day from a LFS. I had them in a tank less than 24 hours when the weaker of the 2 was belly up. I bought another Friday, and he's been harassed to the point of exhaustion. I just removed the dominant to a holding tank for a "time out" I'm hoping this will give the weaker fish a chance to establish him/herself before I reintroduce my bully. They were both in a 15 (same footprint as 20H). I had been looking a long time for Thomasi around here with no luck, so I'm hoping I can manage their aggression.

madzarembski


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Unless you find a ripe female and your dominate fish is male (and they aren't easily sexed), I think you'll need a larger tank to get a pair *madzarembski*. Once paired I had planned on moving the pair to a 20 long and still think they will work as a pair there.

But the unpaired fish, which I do believe is a male and most deffinately a female simply won't pair in the remaining space (18"x15") they are being forced into by the other pair.

I have been wanting them for several years now, so even though I wasn't exactly ready for them yet, I simply had to pick them up. Good luck with them, such beautiful cichlids. :thumb:


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## oldwheat (Dec 24, 2007)

If you can find them anymore ( and I wish that I could) ,the original Seirra Leone form of Thomasi, IMNSHO is a whole lot less aggressive than the commonly available Guinean form.
Or, HEMICHROMIS Sp. 'Bangui' generally is a well behaved cichlid in a community situation and is about the same size as thomasi.


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