Agression between a pair of Laetacara curviceps

[Haddock]

Hi everyone. I am new to the forum so I hope no-one minds that I'm not an expert cichlid keeper!

I have a 50 gallon planted tank with a mixture of tetras and harlequins, two gourami, 3 corys and a multipunctatis syno catfish.

Two weeks ago I added a pair of Laetacara curviceps, a male and female I think. For the first week they were inseparable and were displaying what I presumed to be courtship behaivior to each other - lots of head shaking and rubbing against each other. This last week has been very different - for about three days they were very agressive to each other and have ripped each others tails to bits. Now they stay at opposite ends of the tank. The female keps trying to approach the male but he swims off fast.

Does anyone know if this is normal? Should I try and separate them? Do you think they will make up with each other?

Thanks.

[Don Hiatt]

Hi Haddock,
Do you have any hiding places for your cichlids? The other fish may stress your cichlids if they do not feel secure with a territory to defend.
This will cause a pair of fish to act this way.

[Haddock]

Thanks for your reply.
The tank is quite heavily planted with a huge piece of arched bogwood and two areas of rocks so there are quite a few hiding places but maybe I should put in a couple of caves?
The fish seem to have stopped fighting but have established themselves at opposite ends of the tank.

I have reduced the temp from 26 to 23 degrees celcius to see if that helps too.

[Don Hiatt]

Try coconut shells. I buy them from the grocery store and break them in half. They work well, look natural, shouldn't effect your water quality and won't stand out in your tank like flower pots would. If you hope to breed them in the future, give them ahwile at the lower temp (good thinking by the way). After a month or so, start feeding them freeze dried krill and other meaty foods and raise the temp a little each day for a week. And have planty of caves for them too. Good luck with them and keep us posted.

[Don Hiatt]

Try coconut shells. I buy them from the grocery store and break them in half. They work well, look natural, shouldn't effect your water quality and won't stand out in your tank like flower pots would. If you hope to breed them in the future, give them ahwile at the lower temp (good thinking by the way). After a month or so, start feeding them freeze dried krill and other meaty foods and raise the temp a little each day for a week. And have planty of caves for them too. Good luck with them and keep us posted.

[Don Hiatt]

Weird, I don't know why that posted twice. lol.