[PlantedRich]

We can read and hear it all over, in books, on the internet and from lots of people. Cichlids are territorial, they dig, they kill each other and all those stories. But is it true or does it just make a good story?

How about a small case study that indicates not all cichlids are the same.
Can we call it "Grandfather visits" ?

A 75 gallon tank with lots of wood and rocks for cover where 6 rainbow cichlids live and breed. A young pair have laid eggs and now have wigglers when the largest male approachs.

Does he dash in, beat up the small fish and eat the fry?


Or does he approach them slowly and let them know he means no harm?

Maybe he even greets them and checks on the grandkids?

After he leaves the small female still guards the little black pile of wigglers down in the corner.

But that can't happen. All the books say cichlids are killers!

NO! Not all cichlids do that! Some are just plain sweet but you are not likely to see that written in most books.

So just don't believe all you read. I find some of the "experts" who write books may not be that good on the subject. Some of the information you read is correct. Some is totally wrong.
Pick your information carefully and you may find cichlids are not all the same.

 

[PlantedRich]

The point I am trying to make is that there are ciclids for all situations if you want to do the study. What is being missed is that these are a cichlid that is different than the more common types we all see. This is not unusual behavior for this type. They have totally diffent behavior than lots of CA/SA cichlids due to the genes, not my tank setup. Reading about them , I find they are often found it dark, dingy, almost mud puddle size ponds. They are not normally breeding in a situation where viloent fights would be good for the species, so they have adapted. I have not done the research so I can only relie on what I read but it fits what I find in my fish. They have dark dramatic color shifts apparently to let everybody know they are breeding even in the dark colored muddy water. They also have a different way of reacting to threats. When adult Rainbow cichlids meet a threat like from a larger cichlid like severum, they often go into a submisive head down attitude. Sometimes it works , sometimes not depending who the threat might be. They do not fight. They bluff, make charges, and flare out their gills, but don't tear fins. If the intruder doesn't leave they will go to the side and push rather than biting.
Much of the bad information passed around about cichlids all being the same seems to just go on forever. If somebody wants to get into fish that do have really interesting lifestyles, the cichlid group is a great place to find what you want. Just be aware that there are tons of different types and you do have to do your study to find what each might be expected to do.
I find keeping cichlids might be compared to taking care of children. You get to feeling really good about what you know when you have a couple two year olds. But then to really know the game, you have to try to keep a couple of ten year olds happy.
Keeping community fish and keeping cichlids is about the same level.

 

[PlantedRich]

Reminds me of the favorite angel I used to have. Very peaceful sort and had him for years but I did have to watch when cleaning if he was close around. I have a small freckle about the size of a period. He could not resist trying to get it any time he got a chance. Not a fatal bite but it did take some getting used to it!

Those who say cichlids don't think have just not kept the right group. That old angel loved for me to come in and go to the frig for brine shrimp but it was shear panic when I tried to feed him with my baseball cap on one night. My current tank obviously knows who is a stranger around their tank.

 

[PlantedRich]

I do find most cichlids do much better at taking care of their fry than many groups would. It's been a while since I read what defines a cichlid but I think "advanced parental care" was part of the basic decription. It certainly takes a good deal more to care for a bunch of active little fry than is required of fish who may simply scatter their eggs.
While I would never consider cichlid emotions to be anywhere as complex as human emotions, I think it is missing a lot if we say they do not have some type of thought and reaction to a situation. They certainly learn to a certain level and some of that seems to indicate emotion. Those of us who have had a favorite cihlid for some time have often seen them react to us differently than to strangers. Many have used a net to scare a cichlid into behaving for a few days. It may not be learning or it may not be scared but if you hold a cichlid in a net for a couple hours, he will often remember it the next day and all you have to do is wave the net and he changes what he is doing!

As for aggression, it does vary a lot and much of that does involve raisng a group of fry. To me whether they "think" or not is purely how we define "thinking". They plan when they build a nest site. They display for females. They go through all the actions to protect their family even fighting to the death with larger fish.
When we guys do that we are credited with thinking so I'm willing to say my fish think.

The larger fish in my pictures is the male (father?) of the two smaller. Some would call that a grandfather to the fry? He was not aggressive and did not have to be frightened away. This was an action that I saw several times. Often enough that I got the camera and was ready when it happened again. He never turned on his black agrressive colors which he could have if he had wanted. He and his female had their spot back at the other end of the tank and he would drift by now and then. It may be just projecting human emotions onto a fish but it sure fits what I see humans do.
Is it a case of fish not having emotions or maybe a case of us not being able to recognise what we are seeing?
Is it rational to say your dog loves you but a fish is only wanting food?

 

[PlantedRich]

Cichlids eat guppy's, of course you don't like them :icon_eek:

This is part of the information which I feel is not correct. SOME cichlids eat guppies! Some cichlids do not! Some cichlids do not eat meat of any sort! Some are too mild to attempt to attack a guppy.