# Cichlid body language help



## touchofgenius (Aug 15, 2014)

I am still very new the hobby I have been watching the fish and studying their behaviors in order to have a better understanding of my fish. Can you guys tell me about things your fish do and what they mean. Like chasing is it just playing or is it aggression. All fins up and flexed vs retracted? etc anything that you guys can add to help me understand their behaviors and moods. My peacocks are changing colors before my eyes constantly one second they look so colorful and beautiful. Then 30 secs later they are dull and gray. I feed New life spectrum, Spirulina, algae, and i threw some baby crickets in there the other day they went crazy over. My water is pretty much perfect. I have tried to create optimal living conditions with many hiding spots and a high quality diet. Seems my aggression is minimal to non-existent. Only one fish has any damage done to its fins the rest are flawless. Tank is 2 months old. No fish is over 2 inches. I added buenos aires tetras as dither fish after 2 months 2 of the 6 are still alive.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Chasing can be playing or aggression. If you have fin damage or fish hiding, especially lurking under the surface or near heaters or intakes, it's too much. Dull fish with laid back fins are afraid or sick. Bright fish with fins up are showing off. What are the dimensions of your tank and what is your stock list?


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## touchofgenius (Aug 15, 2014)

I have a 75g tank. I have 5 rustys 2 hungai red tops 5 yellow labs (I tried to find the least aggressive mbuna). 7 peacocks all under 2 inches and a jewel cichlid. I have 2 mamba blue dolphins the larger darker colored one is chasing the smaller lighter colored one often. While chasing it has its fins all up like showing off and the fish being chased has all fins retracted. These 2 fish were together in a small tank like 20g when I bought them and they were in with a ton of yellow labs so i thought they would be pretty peaceful. The jewel chichlid has an injury or a brain problem or something its has amazing red color and bright speckles but something is off on him for sure he swims upside down often sometimes when hes trying to swim he starts rotating in circles like crazy as if it cant control its body or having a seizure. However he seems to function just fine at other times and he eats fine(sometimes upside down) and is confident and gets in the center of the feeding frenzy and never shys away from other fish and doesnt get picked on all fins are in perfect condition. I thought the jewel cichlid would die from whatever was wrong with it but its been going strong for a month now. Today when I woke up and checked the tank and fed the fish 1 of my red tops was dead. I overstocked the tank on purpose because I read that will reduce aggression which has been low to non-existent. Im aware that when the fish get larger this is just not enough tank for them so Im buying my friends 75g tank when he moves out of his home soon. Should I seperate the mbuna and peacocks are they too rowdy and stressing out my peacocks causing them to change colors and be at their best? I just dont understand how my fish can show their brightest colors and their dullest colors and go from bright to dull and back to bright in 30 secs it just seems like too much fluctuation. So i figured im doing something wrong.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

It's a good idea to view dull colors as "something wrong" and try to fix the problem. I'd separate the mbuna and peacocks.

You may find the hongi and dolphins are not a good mix with both having blue bars and hongi being aggressive/dolphins being timid.

4 species of mbuna stocked 1m:4f of each works for a 75G. You want to have at least 4 females for each male because the male will likely kill a lone female. And you don't want two males of the same species in a tank because they will fight...one of the above is probably happening to your dolphins.


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