Mirror in the fishtank
 

"Big Dummy" wrote in message
om...
Capiche

Yeah, in a pack they can be dangerous, their teeth seem to be able to take
chunks out of other fish. I've had them get bullied by cichlids too
though
frankly, keep in mind they share the same habitat with many cichlid
species,
some of which (Cichla Oceleris?) prey on rbp, as well as vice versa

DB


Heh, yah that environment is a mostly "the wrong place at the wrong time"
kinda thing or vice versa. Kind of a matter of who is the biggest at the
meeting of nasties...


Sean

Mirror in the fishtank
 

Consider yourself lucky, BD. I've had several green terrors and only one
had the expected attitude. The rest were/are wimps. Even the sparky
one's kids turned out to be luke-warm. A fish like that deserves to be
treasured in his own tank, perhaps with a mate.

Mirror in the fishtank
 

Big Dummy wrote:
I have been having problems with a hyper-territorial green terror in my 75
gal tank, he killed a gymnogeophageous meridonalis, a jaguar guapote, two
plecostomus and a synuspillum, chewed up two severums and a red devil so
badly they had to be removed, beaten up with no tails.

Thing is, I like this green terror a lot. My girlfriend likes it even more,
mistakenly thinking it's a female, she named it Brigid for the Celtic
Goddess of war. So I want to keep it, therefore the obvious answer to trade
him in or flush him isn't an option, at least until everything else fails..
I want to exhaust every other option first.

So I've been trying various methods to curb his aggression. I put in
several silver dollars as dithers, he chased them for a while but when he
realised he couldn't catch them just gave up and now ignores them. I put in
a couple of mbuna (a cynotilapia afra and 2 demosoni) and he chases them
occasionally but still picks on the other weaker fish more (usually
targeting one at a time). I put in a pair of convicts hoping they would set
up a territory and be able to defend it from him, which could absorb alot of
aggression, but he's been able to prevent them from settling in anywhere and
persecutes the male mercilessly. I put a large Oscar in the tank hoping he
would be able to keep the peace (this has worked before), but even though it
was twice his size, the Green Terror quickly intimidated him and now the
Oscar is sulking on the bottom, refusing to eat.

Finally I tried an old trick and put a little mirror from my neighbors
cockatiel cage in the tank. This has finally seemed to work to some extent.
The Green Terror spends hours squaring off with the mirror, posturing in
front of it, wagging his tail, swiming around and a round it, and just
staring at it sullenly from behind a rock (the mbuna and the female convicts
also freak out on it). He finally saw a face he was scared of.

My question now is, will the mirror leach any metals or glue into the tank
which could hurt the fish? Can I leave it in there for a few hours a day or
not? It doesn't seem to work as well when taped to the outside of the tank
but I could do that as second tier alternative.

Any other ideas on reducing this guys aggression would be welcome too.

Jr


OK - my cichlid experience is with Mbunas....quite a mean type of
fish...when I read "mildly aggressive" I didn't realise it had context
but it is all a learning experience....anyway the tank after 12 months
has reached a balance...there have been battles and murders but I'm
taking on board that this is a hazzard with keeping these type of fish
(I've also rescued and returned some of the persecuted to the LFS - but
not all)...we now call the current Alpha fish "Batter" - firstly because
he will batter any other fish in the tank given half a chance and
secondly because my mum reckons he is almost of a size to make a decent
meal deep fried with batter - lol

My feeling is that you are fighting a losing battle...keep the fish in
question by all means but don't mix him with other cichlids who will
also battle for their place in the pecking order - it will end in
tears...find suitable tank mates (if there are any - no experience of
green terrors) or house him on his own or with a suitable mate...

By putting in a mirror you will be causing stress to the fish in
question...he is now involved in a battle he cannot win...imagine
spending your entire life face to face with whoever you perceive to be
the enemy. It might detract attention from the others but is not a long
term solution especially for the Green terror...decide which fish is
important to you...if it is the others rehouse or rehome the green
terror...if it is him rehouse or rehome the others...

You could try messing with the tank decor and moving caves, add caves,
add plants...this would be more effective long term than forcing the
fish to believe there is another alpha in the tank...but in reality it
just won't work IMO...if the Green Terror loses his alpha status another
fish will step in and then it will be him that you are worrying about...

So to sum up...rehouse him or send him back to the LFS...anything else
from my experience with cichlids will end in tears....

Gill

Mirror in the fishtank
 

Have you tried stuffing their faces with earthworms then rearranging
their rocks/decorations? I've only keps big-ass cichlids for a few months last
year when I was keeping some here for a friend. Managanense, green terror and
some africans (not my choice to put them together). The T. buttekfori (sp?)
knocked the crap out of alll of them even thouhg they were tiny b comparison.

The managuanense was real pussycat.

If anybody knows of any large male jag cichlids near Troonto ontario please
drop a line to evans at vrx.net. he has three large females in a 150 gal tank
that keep spawning and cannot find a male.

--
Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org
Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home page: http://rs79.vrx.net
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net

Mirror in the fishtank
 

"Big Dummy" wrote in message
. net...
I have been having problems with a hyper-territorial green terror in my 75
gal tank, he killed a gymnogeophageous meridonalis, a jaguar guapote, two
plecostomus and a synuspillum, chewed up two severums and a red devil so
badly they had to be removed, beaten up with no tails.

Thing is, I like this green terror a lot. My girlfriend likes it even
more,
mistakenly thinking it's a female, she named it Brigid for the Celtic
Goddess of war. So I want to keep it, therefore the obvious answer to
trade
him in or flush him isn't an option, at least until everything else
fails..
I want to exhaust every other option first.

So I've been trying various methods to curb his aggression. I put in
several silver dollars as dithers, he chased them for a while but when he
realised he couldn't catch them just gave up and now ignores them. I put
in
a couple of mbuna (a cynotilapia afra and 2 demosoni) and he chases them
occasionally but still picks on the other weaker fish more (usually
targeting one at a time). I put in a pair of convicts hoping they would
set
up a territory and be able to defend it from him, which could absorb alot
of
aggression, but he's been able to prevent them from settling in anywhere
and
persecutes the male mercilessly. I put a large Oscar in the tank hoping
he
would be able to keep the peace (this has worked before), but even though
it
was twice his size, the Green Terror quickly intimidated him and now the
Oscar is sulking on the bottom, refusing to eat.

Finally I tried an old trick and put a little mirror from my neighbors
cockatiel cage in the tank. This has finally seemed to work to some
extent.
The Green Terror spends hours squaring off with the mirror, posturing in
front of it, wagging his tail, swiming around and a round it, and just
staring at it sullenly from behind a rock (the mbuna and the female
convicts
also freak out on it). He finally saw a face he was scared of.

My question now is, will the mirror leach any metals or glue into the tank
which could hurt the fish? Can I leave it in there for a few hours a day
or
not? It doesn't seem to work as well when taped to the outside of the
tank
but I could do that as second tier alternative.

Any other ideas on reducing this guys aggression would be welcome too.

Jr



something I've done is set up a "virtual" tank divider out of many plastic
plants. After a water change put his favorite cave on one side of the tank
and build a thick "wall" out of plastic plants across the center (1/3) of
the tank - pile up rocks along the base of the plants so he can't see over
to the other 2/3s of the tank. this method has allowed me to spawn several
types of aggressive fish in the same tank (135 gal) set it up into thirds.

Brad

Mirror in the fishtank
 

"URBANFLAGE" wrote in message news:4rONf.804$

something I've done is set up a "virtual" tank divider out of many plastic
plants. After a water change put his favorite cave on one side of the tank
and build a thick "wall" out of plastic plants across the center (1/3) of
the tank - pile up rocks along the base of the plants so he can't see over
to the other 2/3s of the tank. this method has allowed me to spawn several
types of aggressive fish in the same tank (135 gal) set it up into thirds.

Brad

Interesting idea Brad, thanks!

Mirror in the fishtank
 

"Gill Passman" wrote in message
...
Big Dummy wrote:
I have been having problems with a hyper-territorial green terror in
my 75
gal tank, he killed a gymnogeophageous meridonalis, a jaguar guapote,
two
plecostomus and a synuspillum, chewed up two severums and a red devil
so
badly they had to be removed, beaten up with no tails.

Thing is, I like this green terror a lot. My girlfriend likes it even
more,
mistakenly thinking it's a female, she named it Brigid for the Celtic
Goddess of war. So I want to keep it, therefore the obvious answer to
trade
him in or flush him isn't an option, at least until everything else
fails..
I want to exhaust every other option first.

So I've been trying various methods to curb his aggression. I put in
several silver dollars as dithers, he chased them for a while but when
he
realised he couldn't catch them just gave up and now ignores them. I
put in
a couple of mbuna (a cynotilapia afra and 2 demosoni) and he chases
them
occasionally but still picks on the other weaker fish more (usually
targeting one at a time). I put in a pair of convicts hoping they
would set
up a territory and be able to defend it from him, which could absorb
alot of
aggression, but he's been able to prevent them from settling in
anywhere and
persecutes the male mercilessly. I put a large Oscar in the tank
hoping he
would be able to keep the peace (this has worked before), but even
though it
was twice his size, the Green Terror quickly intimidated him and now
the
Oscar is sulking on the bottom, refusing to eat.

Finally I tried an old trick and put a little mirror from my neighbors
cockatiel cage in the tank. This has finally seemed to work to some
extent.
The Green Terror spends hours squaring off with the mirror, posturing
in
front of it, wagging his tail, swiming around and a round it, and just
staring at it sullenly from behind a rock (the mbuna and the female
convicts
also freak out on it). He finally saw a face he was scared of.

My question now is, will the mirror leach any metals or glue into the
tank
which could hurt the fish? Can I leave it in there for a few hours a
day or
not? It doesn't seem to work as well when taped to the outside of the
tank
but I could do that as second tier alternative.

Any other ideas on reducing this guys aggression would be welcome too.

Jr


OK - my cichlid experience is with Mbunas....quite a mean type of
fish...when I read "mildly aggressive" I didn't realise it had context
but it is all a learning experience....anyway the tank after 12 months
has reached a balance...there have been battles and murders but I'm
taking on board that this is a hazzard with keeping these type of fish
(I've also rescued and returned some of the persecuted to the LFS - but
not all)...we now call the current Alpha fish "Batter" - firstly
because he will batter any other fish in the tank given half a chance
and secondly because my mum reckons he is almost of a size to make a
decent meal deep fried with batter - lol

My feeling is that you are fighting a losing battle...keep the fish in
question by all means but don't mix him with other cichlids who will
also battle for their place in the pecking order - it will end in
tears...find suitable tank mates (if there are any - no experience of
green terrors) or house him on his own or with a suitable mate...

By putting in a mirror you will be causing stress to the fish in
question...he is now involved in a battle he cannot win...imagine
spending your entire life face to face with whoever you perceive to be
the enemy. It might detract attention from the others but is not a long
term solution especially for the Green terror...decide which fish is
important to you...if it is the others rehouse or rehome the green
terror...if it is him rehouse or rehome the others...

You could try messing with the tank decor and moving caves, add caves,
add plants...this would be more effective long term than forcing the
fish to believe there is another alpha in the tank...but in reality it
just won't work IMO...if the Green Terror loses his alpha status
another fish will step in and then it will be him that you are worrying
about...

So to sum up...rehouse him or send him back to the LFS...anything else
from my experience with cichlids will end in tears....

Gill

Mixing adult territorial cichlids is difficult enough, but trying to do
it with a hyper-aggressive will raise *your* blood pressure (_and_ tear
up other fish). I suspect the mirror is just winding him up more, but
drawing off a lot of his energy. The mirror's finish (silver oxide?)
might not be toxic (I don't know), but the mirror's effect probably won't
do his health any good, long term ;~). I've no opinion on dropping the
mirror in occasionally. You would just have to assess if he is better
with or without it. You could probably seal the mirror, or use a
different reflective material(?).

You could slip a sheet of glass lengthwise down the tank, so the Terror
gets front & center, and the fish in the back don't get mangled.
Picture a planted tank in the back with Neons ;~)... but it's one more
piece of glass to keep clean from algae (and compartment to filter).

You could also dump a lot of rocks and driftwood in, and just keep the
smaller Convicts. Make sure the openings are Convict sized and not GT
sized.

Maybe get him his own 55g and then re-populate the 75g with something
else. I've had a few old cichlids who just got too cantankerous to keep
any tankmates with. They certainly have their personality, and they
usually have great color, fins and a nuchal hump. Good luck (you might
need it).
--
www.NetMax.tk

Mirror in the fishtank
 

"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .
Maybe get him his own 55g and then re-populate the 75g with something
else. I've had a few old cichlids who just got too cantankerous to keep
any tankmates with. They certainly have their personality, and they
usually have great color, fins and a nuchal hump. Good luck (you might
need it).
=======================
If you just have to keep those nasty tempered cichlids there are always
those tank dividers the FSs sell. I haven't seen anyone on these NGs
mention them. They do come in handy and they do work.

--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Mirror in the fishtank
 

"Richard Sexton" wrote in message
...

The managuanense was real pussycat.

If anybody knows of any large male jag cichlids near Troonto ontario
please
drop a line to evans at vrx.net. he has three large females in a 150 gal
tank
that keep spawning and cannot find a male.

I actually have a large male in New Orleans but thats a bit far :)

DB

Mirror in the fishtank
 

"Peter Mason" wrote in message

Consider yourself lucky, BD. I've had several green terrors and only one
had the expected attitude. The rest were/are wimps. Even the sparky
one's kids turned out to be luke-warm. A fish like that deserves to be
treasured in his own tank, perhaps with a mate.


yeah there definately seem to be a variety of sub-species of these, because
the last two I had were moderately aggressive as well, this one is like the
meanest Red Devil I ever owned, like an Umbee or something, and he's just a
baby (I may have neglected to mention all of these fish are small juveniles,
the Green Terror is about 2")

But as you insinuate, the meanest of these varmints are often the most
interesting and fun conversely, with the most interesting intelligent and
interractive personalities. Thats why I just have to keep this sucker.

Right now he has kind of calmed down for the time being since I took the
oscar out (the puffer was taking bites out of it...) he may have plateued in
his aggression after a long session of fighting his reflection or he may
just be waiting to pick a new victim. The mirror is out for the time being
too.

DB