Best way to even out my tank?

[Brent Shaver]

I am confused on how I can solve the problem of my 110 cichlid tank.

I have 24 cichlids and 21 of them seem to stay in the left side of the tank, my demasoni seems to take root and then it is like an invisible wall that the fish wont cross.  I have reworked all my rock to try and uproot his territory but still has no effect, within a hour its back to a beautiful half tank and an almost empty other half.

Hoping someone can offer some ideas.  I am not opposed to adding more fish, and maybe I am just understocked for the size of the tank.

Look forward to your feedback.
I have someone coming over today or tomorrow to take a video of my tank which I will post as soon as I can.

[ajm1961]

It would help to know what species of fish you have, how many of each, their maturity and sex if possible. My first thought is that your Demasonis are too aggressive for your other fish...

[Brent Shaver]

Here is what I know I have for sure.  I also have 2 that I am starting to think are hybrids because I cant seem to identify them.  Unfortenatley I and not good at venting so the mix isnt something I can tell you unless it is an easy color ID.

3 - synodontis multipunctatus
1 - Nimbochromis venustus
3 - Pseudotrophis Socolofi
1 - Red Fin Zebra
1 - Pseudotropheus demasoni
4 - Bumble Bee 1m/3f
3 - Red Zebra
1 - Common Pleco
2 - Yellow Labs
1 - Pseudotropheus sp Acei Ngara (This one is best guess, could be wrong)
2 - Pseudotropheus Acei

My smallest is about 2 1/2" and largest is aprox 5-6"

[ajm1961]

Which fish (3 of the 24) are alone on their side? The Demasoni and what else? Bumble Bees are fairly aggressive as well...

[Brent Shaver]

Here is a pic, not great quality of the demasoni and the one just to the left of him is a loner but stays on the same side, The Venustus is pretty much the owner of the tank.  Although he isnt rough, more runs housing control.  He isnt affraid of the demansoni but travels the whole tank.  The rest of the cichlids pretty much hold to one side, very active just wont travel past half tank unless it is feeding time and when the lights are out and then only along the top, no where near the rock work.

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac318/Soundman41/100_1011.jpg

[ajm1961]

If it were me, I'd try a process of elimination:
- remove the Venustus (put in an emergency tank?) and see how they react
- remove the Dem and see how they react (in yet another tank or emergency tank with a divider from the Venustus?)
IMO if the fish won't go to an area of the tank, it is related to territorial boundaries.
The other method I guess would be to try and crowd the tank even more - but you could end up with casualities. I have a 135 gal (6ft length) and have 31 fish in all - however none of my species are regarded as being highly aggressive.
I guess that's the 'fun' of having cichlids - trying to mix and match to get the optimum balance while enjoying the beauty of different species.
Perhaps someone else could chime in with their perspective.

[Brent Shaver]

Any chance 3 females for the Demasoni would help?  I really hate the idea of getting rid of this one as he is what turned me on to cichlids in the first place.

If so, know of anyone that breeds these as would prefer to get them from a breeder.

[Demasonian]

Hey - If it is the Demasoni that's causing the problem and you want to keep him, I'd recommend adding about 12-15 more of them. Demasoni generally don't do well in groups smaller than a dozen.

As mentioned above, both bumblebees and venestus can be aggressive, too. In fact, once your venustus reaches adulthood, he`ll be quite capable of eating most of the other fish in the tank...These guys usually do better with other large haps, as opposed to mbuna...

In general, with the mix you have going, I would recommend picking a maximum of 5 species total (excluding synos), bump up their numbers to 5 or 6 each (12 or more in the case of demasoni) and find another tank or home for the venustus.

Aside from fish changes, the first thing I would do would be to add a lot more rock. Mbuna do very well in reef like structures -- for an example, here`s an old tank of mine http://www.cichlid-forum.com/tanks/displaytank.php?tank=11843&group=owner

Lots of rock means lots of territory and breaks in sight lines...Lots of fish, meanwhile, helps lessen aggression provided that the mix and filtration are right.

[Brent Shaver]

As you can see from the rock work in the pic, my tank is 5' long and I have almost half the back wall built up with rock (approx 100 lbs)

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac318/Soundman41/African%20Chiclid%20Tank/full1102.jpg?
Pic is a bit older, some of the fish arent in this pic but the rock amount is the same

I have reworked this rock to try and cure this so I am guessing I will have to get rid of them.  As for the Bumble Bees I know they can be aggressive, although right now I am having no problems.

[bitterman]

Brent, if reorganizing the tank does not work, sometimes if you remove the offending fish for a bit and reorganize the tank, then wait a couple weeks... then reintroduce the offending fish to the tank. That being said I have seen chaos after this exercise also.

Good luck,
   Bruce

[Brent Shaver]

Actually this coming Thursday I sending my Demasoni to Runner's and I am listing my Venustus on the Classifieds this week.  I will be picking up some more fish from Runner while I am there to complete my stocking.

It is disappointing to get rid of my Demasoni as he was one of the main reasons I got into cichlids in the first place.  Maybe one day I will have a designated tank for them.

Now I can continue on my Angel project once that is complete I am on hold until I get a bigger place:(

Thanks for all the feedback.