Who Gives A Fish Forums

This sounds like courting behaviour to me. There isn't much aggression between them, is there? Just because the female is keen, it doesn't necessarily mean the male will be. Those body shakes and vibrations are forms of communication, but unfortunately, we can't decipher the kribensis language. How ...

Honestly not sure, could be either Hemichromis letourneuxi or Hemichromis lifalili, I'm no expert.

You say he has to stay at the top which suggests its not very big.

Top left I'm pretty sure is a venustus, which is essentially a giraffe cichlid. Top right looks like it could be a labidochromis sp, but I'm not entirely sure. Middle left is a nice fish, but I'm stumped on the ID. Middle right I think is a maingano cichlid, and bottom left seems to be a peacock ...

I've got a backup tank ready just in case, and also a tank divider handy if needed. The other tank mates are a lone butterfly fish and a small school of 8 yellowtail congo tetras.

Thanks for the input, I think it's pretty clear that aggression in jewels usually stems from defending territory, which being cichlids, they're naturally inclined to do. The fact that the congos took weeks to even notice the butterfly and the tetras aren't a threat either, I think that's a big plus ...

That's quite a dire experience your friend had. Was the Jewel the only one of its kind in the tank, or was it paired up with another?

The water level's actually higher than it looks – the angle of the photo's a bit deceptive. I've kept it low to prevent the butterfly from jumping out, but now it's settled in, I might take the risk and top it up a bit. That'll not only increase the water volume but also keep the butterfly further ...

In my experience, most of the horror stories about jewels seem to stem from breeding aggression or when they're housed with another territorial fish.

Sorted then, cheers for the reassurance.