# Tropheops sp. "Red Cheek"- red face mac aggression



## Ca-Delta (Jun 22, 2009)

Ok, I got twelve of these guys - juvies but getting to be about 2-2.5 inches now. It appears that we have 4 males and 8 females. The females just seem to be brutal to each other. Not all the time but every so often a couple of them will square off and just get stupid on each other. Now I will say when a couple of the demasoni get after it, it lasts much longer but at much lower speed and not nearly as agressive as these females seem to be. So much for a peaceful species! Has anyone had experience with these and is this normal? Do I perhaps have sub-dom males that aren't colored up? And if I did how would I tell and how would I fix it? Thanks in advance for the collective wisdom out here!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Profile says Temperament: Aggressive, Conspecific Temperament: Highly Aggressive so what you are experiencing is normal. It's one reason I would not consider keeping this species.

How big is the tank, dimensions not gallons? What are the tankmates? Are they just fighting, or are they injuring each other? Anyone hiding at the surface or lurking behind heaters and filter intakes 90% of the time?

I think you already suspect you should eliminate males so you have one. And yes, you may have additional sub-dom males in hiding. Just keep removing males as they appear. For a while, the more you remove the more will appear. And if you have 4 males and 8 suspected females already...chances are you will need more females to keep this aggressive species.


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## misterted (Sep 12, 2003)

I used to keep these and they are VERY aggresive.
If you have more than one male they will beat the **** out of each other.
Females generally were peaceful towards each other but when the males reach spawning age they were really nasty. They are a beautiful species but need a large tank.


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## Ca-Delta (Jun 22, 2009)

No one is hiding behind things and thankfully, no one is injured. Tank dimensions are 8'x2'x2'. We have rocks and bogwood in the middle of the tank. 99% of the time (like right now) there are fish all over the tank and everything is peaceful. I must mention that we bought (all but 2, long story) all at once and they arrived on a fedex truck. The stock list is:

13 Yellow Labs
13 Demasoni
12 Obliquen Zebra
12 Red Face Mac
10 Rusty's. (started w/12 lost 2 to underfeeding in my opinion)

The Zebras, Rusty's and Macs are the largest fish. The labs have been slow growers and they range betweeen 1.5 to 3". The Macs are mostly about 2" the 4 males I mentioned are about 3". As I stated in my previous post (on the plant forum) about 40% are full size now. The rest are maturing rapidly. I've already have numerous holding females and noticed a zebra with a jaw like no tomorrow today, she's definately holding! and currently have 3 demosni and one mystery brown baby that have somehow made it. That worries me - I figured that if I let the females spit in the main tank that they would be high protein snacks for the rest - but so far those little guys are defying conventional wisdom! Now I gotta root for 'em! Gotta say a 1/4" demasoni is pretty darn cute! 
The Dear Husband will love your last answer as he has been pushing for another tank since we got this one up and running.
I will say this about that, their behaviour is changing constantly as they get larger and more mature. The Rusty's and Red Face Macs (big ones) have decided that grabbing gravel from under the bogwood and spitting it out is a great way to spend the day! I fill it back in and they dig it back out. LOL! The bogwood may have to go. The Zebras never showed any interest in the rock work before but the big males have decided that - rocks are cool. I've witnessed a couple of encounters between the Zebras and the Demasoni. The Demasoni win even though the Zebra is a good 1.5" bigger! What I do find intriguing is that out of the 12 Zebras ,we have for certain, 4 males and they all get along just fine. The worst of it with them is when a male seems to decide I GOTTA MATE NOW! and chases the females all over the place. I can smell it now, a new tank and some re-homing is in our future. For certain, the Red Face Mac females, when they decide to "get it on" - are the winners. Demosani circle each other, these guys, they actually bite at each other and do the "back and forth" thing. Pretty amazing.


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## nick a (Apr 9, 2004)

Good article on 'obliquidens':
http://www.africancichlids.net/articles/haplochromis_obliquidens/

Which do you have?
http://www.africancichlids.net/articles/astatotilapia_latifasciata/
or
http://www.africancichlids.net/articles/haplochromis_sp_thick_skin/

I've kept T. sp 'Red Cheek' in a number of different set ups over the years. I currently keep a single male and a single female in a 125 with other larger growing, more aggressive Mbuna. Why a single female, you might ask......because she killed off all of her sisters, one by one. This is the second time that this has occurred. Both times, all the fish were raised together from fry on to adulthood. You may have more success with your numbers and tank size, but this is one Mbuna that I've started recommending be kept in pairs (vs male+harem). Also be aware that these will get quite large. The females will be as large as your male rustys and the males can reach 6-7" TL.


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