I have these fish in my tank:
4 keyhole cichlids - 1 pair + 2 females
2 pearl gouramis
3 gold mollys
13 lemon tetras
8 rasbora espei
The 4 keyholes do mostly get along ok, but during breeding its quite dramatic, the female is very aggressive (considering keyholes should be a peaceful cichlid) and keeps chasing the 2 other females, especially if they come close to the eggs. The female also chases the pearl gouramis and mollies, but only if they get too close to her nest. This is problematic especially when I am observing the tank, because the cichlids gather in front of the tank, expecting to be fed, and the female is very aggressive towards the other female keyholes that come close to her. The feeding is also a bit dramatic because the 2 females just want to grab a bite but they keep being chased away.
I am wondering what should I do, its not a big issue, they are together for more than a year and they seem to be ok (no injuries occured yet), but its a bit distracting to the peaceful nature of the tank that I am trying to achieve. So should I:
1. not worry about it and accept that the female is just guarding the potential kids 🙂
2. get rid of the 2 females that are not paired (I would miss them, but I feel a bit sorry for them, because of the constant aggression)
3. get rid of the aggressive female (I guess the least favourite option, considering from what I know that keyholes form pair for life, I guess they would be pretty heartbroken)
Attached a picture, the nest is on the bottom left of the picture.
EDIT: the breeding net is there just so that the plants have a chance to grow roots, otherwise they are constantly uprooted by the keyholes
4 keyhole cichlids - 1 pair + 2 females
2 pearl gouramis
3 gold mollys
13 lemon tetras
8 rasbora espei
The 4 keyholes do mostly get along ok, but during breeding its quite dramatic, the female is very aggressive (considering keyholes should be a peaceful cichlid) and keeps chasing the 2 other females, especially if they come close to the eggs. The female also chases the pearl gouramis and mollies, but only if they get too close to her nest. This is problematic especially when I am observing the tank, because the cichlids gather in front of the tank, expecting to be fed, and the female is very aggressive towards the other female keyholes that come close to her. The feeding is also a bit dramatic because the 2 females just want to grab a bite but they keep being chased away.
I am wondering what should I do, its not a big issue, they are together for more than a year and they seem to be ok (no injuries occured yet), but its a bit distracting to the peaceful nature of the tank that I am trying to achieve. So should I:
1. not worry about it and accept that the female is just guarding the potential kids 🙂
2. get rid of the 2 females that are not paired (I would miss them, but I feel a bit sorry for them, because of the constant aggression)
3. get rid of the aggressive female (I guess the least favourite option, considering from what I know that keyholes form pair for life, I guess they would be pretty heartbroken)
Attached a picture, the nest is on the bottom left of the picture.
EDIT: the breeding net is there just so that the plants have a chance to grow roots, otherwise they are constantly uprooted by the keyholes
