# will my big fish eat my little fish?



## djm5683

i have 5 lake malawi cichlids in a 30 gallon that are mature and about 5 inches long. I have 10 gallon tank with 7 1.25 inch malawi cichlids and am thinking about combining the two into one 55 gallon tank. Will the big cichlids eat the little ones if i combine the two tanks into one 55 gallon?


----------



## Neolamprologus Marco

Big fish eat little fish.


----------



## MalawiLover

If the little ones can fit in the mouths of the bigger ones, they are fair game. What species are we talking about? Some will be more forgiving than others. Also, if you have really good hiding places for the smaller ones that the big ones can't get into, you may have better results.


----------



## webgirl74

They may be OK. Are the juvies of the same species as your mature fish? I added some extra juvie female peacocks (2") to my 55 gallon for a male I have that is over 4" and they got along fine. Just to be safe though, you might want to set up your 55 gallon and cycle it, then add your adult fish. Transfer the juveniles to your 30 gallon to grow out a bit more and then add them to the 55 gallon. I did try adding some non-cichlid dither fish to my tank and they maybe lasted 2 days. The fish basically ganged up on the smaller fish and battered them so much that they died from stress and injury.


----------



## Floridagirl

I'd wait a little longer. I just put some Placidochromis Phenos that were that size in with some 3.5" Labs and one got eaten very quickly. I fished them out, and will wait a bit longer. I've added juvies in my other tank, but it has more hiding places. I guess it boils down to how unhappy you will be if you lose any.


----------



## KMNL

Yep. Take it from someone who learned a hard lesson


----------



## mthigpen_02

It depends on the fish in the tank and the fish being added. I added 1.75 inch Albino Tiawan Reefs into a tank of Haps and they got ate so fast I couldn't get them out. I have added assorted 1 inch fish to the same tank with no problems. If you will add at night and have some spots only the small fish can get you will greatly increase their chances but still not a guarantee.


----------



## BRANT13

*** noticed that if the fish are well fed they wont even pay any attention to smaller fish...i think they see a bigger fish as more competition IMO


----------



## PiePuncher

Is this the answer you are looking for?
This is a fairly large lithobate(4-5inch) ZR eating an albino bristlenose. I have also had polits become lunch. I feed my fish well and they still love anything they can catch. Had some friends drop some betas in my tank and you can only guess what happened.


----------



## raggs715

thats a pretty intense picture!


----------



## MalawiLover

Wait. You have 5 malawis in a 30g tank?!?!? Dare I ask what species?


----------



## jfly

hmm thats kinda sad.. :roll:


----------

