I think in the long run, it would be best if you remove the other dorsigers. In similar situations we have had significant aggression problems with this species (in addition to fry predation/etc). This is why we give our pairs a bit more room now. I would NOT replace them juvi Keyholes. The keyholes will get roughed up really badly (or worse) by your pair, and, if they survive, they'll still be clever enough to eat up a lot of fry. We have some keyholes sharing a 55gal with some dorsigers and they are certainly well below the dorsigers on the pecking order in that tank, but they still managed to vacuum up the fry of two dorsiger spawns. Your guppies might work OK as companions for your pair. Dorsigers, like most or all dwarf cichlids, feel most at ease if there are some small non-aggressive schooling fish ("dither fish") in the tank with them. This may also make them feel more comfortable about spawning. I've read of people who have used guppies as dither. The preferred dither fish of most dwarf cichlid enthusiasts seems to be pencilfish. We use cardinal tetras, although some have reported that cardinals and neons may eat eggs or fry. Remember if you deprive your keyholes of their dither (the guppies), you'll want to get some dither fish for your keyholes to keep them happy.gigafish said:
Giant danios are a bit too hyper active (and large) to make dorsigers feel comfortable. Zebra danios will probably work--I've read of folks using them successfully as dither. Certainly keep those convicts out of the Laetacara tank by all means. Convicts will tear Laetacaras to shreds.I don't think you have to make the entrance to the cave (that has the flat rock on the floor) smaller, as long as it is not too much in the open. A Java Fern near the entrance probably wouldn't hurt. You probably don't want to block the entrance (and your view) too much because it is really fun to watch the egg laying process (just watched a dorsiger pair do this three weeks ago).gigafish said:
. I put the cherry barbs in my 30g angel and keyhole community tank. You may also wish to feed live brine shrimp if they are available in your area. We've spawned ours on a diet that is mostly flake food (primarily Aquarian, OSI Vivid Color and OSI Cichlid) with a live brine shrimp "treat" meal every third day. Most folks, however, will feed a diet much richer in frozen and live foods. As for the number of zebra danios, I'd go with a half dozen. Bear in mind that zebra danios may not be the best at getting out of harm's way when spawning occurs. I recall reading a story on the Krib where some spawning curviceps wiped out their zebra danio dither and ate them. With regard to your male's rampage...cichlids sometimes go through periods where they are pretty nasty (even individuals of supposedly "gentle" species). Our best L. dorsiger male (father of all but one of the dorsigers we now keep) was particularly ornery when he wasn't in spawning mode. He mercilessly pounded his mate, another female, and the dither, in a well planted 26 gal. tank. He actually got a bit mellower during spawning and broodcare. Curiously the most aggressive of all of his offspring (he died a few months ago) is a female--she is as aggressive as he was and she simply dominates her mate.gigafish said:I just got some more plants from my fish club and 2 cherry barbs and some other goodies
How many zebra danios can I put in the 20g? I was thinking 8.
Oh, My male went nuts yesterday. He chased everyone, including his mate. Don't know why?
Right now I'm feeding hikari dried bloodworm and pellets. Is that ok?
