Removing females causes unbalanced tank

[woodcut]

I took my females out of my cichlid tank a couple of weeks ago and it was chaos, the males went at each other like never before and sadly two didn't make it. Been doing some reading and it seems removing the females was the trigger, so I managed to get one back from the LFS and picked up two more - fingers crossed it's all calm now. You're always learning with these fish, and I found out that an all-male tank can work but only if you start with juveniles, so hopefully this experience can help others. Only downside is, I'm expecting a tank full of fry in a month or so, but I'd rather that than the males fighting again.

[zenrow]

Out of curiosity, what's the breed of cichlids you're keeping, woodcut?

[woodcut]

They're Malawi cichlids, Sean.

[slyzen]

I've had mbuna and haps, never had an issue removing females from either type of setup, but I've found male mbuna can still be quite aggressive, especially when it comes to space in the tank and pecking order. Adding females might just give them another excuse to fight, to be honest.

[woodcut]

Mbuna m8, I've gotta say I'm surprised, but putting females back in seems to have calmed the whole tank down, been like this for over a year now, so I can only go by my own experience.

[slyzen]

you might of made it worse by reducing the amount of fish in the setup, tbh. mbuna dont generally work all male, you dont get the best colours from them without females. plus they expand territories to find females, hence the increased aggression, might of been from stepping on toes so to speak.

[floriana]

I've got three Mbuna in a 55g, I know it's not ideal, but they're getting along just fine. I've had low numbers from the start and the only issue I had was with a Red Zebra, but once he was gone, the remaining three have been happy as clams. No fighting, no stress, no injuries - they're just cruising along. I've only had them for three months, but my experience says that sometimes numbers aren't the problem.

[slyzen]

3 mbuna in a 55g would work also as very low numbers would give enough space for each fish too, I keep 2 trios of mbuna in 55g tanks no issues 1 male 2 females of each, this setup seems to work for me, giving each fish enough space to establish their own territory, I've found that this balance helps to reduce aggression.

[floriana]

Mine are a mix of species, all female I think. My concern is adding more and disrupting the harmony in the tank. My largest girl is about 7 inches, so overstocking is a worry for me. My 75g is a different story though - it's overstocked already, but the fish are still small. I've got three rescues that need rehoming, but currently I've got three varius Viejas, one jewel cichlid, two severums, and an upside-down cat.

[floriana]

Mbuna costs an arm and a leg, to be honest I'm a bit skint at the moment