Aggressive Thorichthys Maculipinnis(Ellioti)

[Krackar]

After my heater malfunction a couple of weeks ago I replaced the fish I had lost. The Maculipinnis i found was a little bigger than the last one but was still ok for my other sized fish. But he was aggressive from the start and only got worse. I had to give him to my LFS yesterday as he continued to be super aggressive and would not stop harrassing his tankmates. He had a few of them hiding in the corner yesterday morning. From most things i read they are meant to be less aggressive than the Firemouth but this guy was an absolute jerk! Cichlids i guess. A shame as he was a stunning fish but the tank is much more relaxed now and more enjoyable to watch without the aggression.

 

[newworld]

Out of the thoricthys ive kept ellioti easily the most aggressive..

 

[bkfamus]

What size tank and what tankmates?

IME they're peaceful.. I've kept them in 75Gs w/ other smaller cichlids like panamius panamensis as well as in 210Gs w/ much bigger tankmates w/ no problemas... But I've read they are considered the most aggressive Thorichthys. My previous breeding group gave me no issues, but caused a lot of issues for the guys I moved them too, killing conspecifics.. I have another breeding group now in a 75G w/ columbian tetras and plecos and have had zero issues..

 

[Krackar]

What size tank and what tankmates?

IME they're peaceful.. I've kept them in 75Gs w/ other smaller cichlids like panamius panamensis as well as in 210Gs w/ much bigger tankmates w/ no problemas... But I've read they are considered the most aggressive Thorichthys. My previous breeding group gave me no issues, but caused a lot of issues for the guys I moved them too, killing conspecifics.. I have another breeding group now in a 75G w/ columbian tetras and plecos and have had zero issues..

75gal. I've got all juveniles. 1 Firemouth, 1 Cutteri, 1 EBA(these 3 were constantly harrased and kept to a corner) 2 Albino Heckelii( these were left alone mostly), 11 Rummynose tetra(left alone) and a couple of Bristlenose(also left alone). The tetra will be moved to my community tank when the cichlids get bigger.

 

[bkfamus]

75gal. I've got all juveniles. 1 Firemouth, 1 Cutteri, 1 EBA(these 3 were constantly harrased and kept to a corner) 2 Albino Heckelii( these were left alone mostly), 11 Rummynose tetra(left alone) and a couple of Bristlenose(also left alone). The tetra will be moved to my community tank when the cichlids get bigger.

seems like reasonable stocking.. maybe there is some m / f tension brewing.. I don't have any experience mixing singles so unsure if that has an impact on compatibility.. When I mix different species of cichlids in the same tank, I typically stock w/ groups of 4-6 of each..

And as you noted, keep an eye on the rummynose.. I have success w/ taller bodied tetras like lemons, colombians, BA, bleeding hearts etc. when housing w/ CA cichlids..

 

[duanes]

All Thorichthys like to be kept in shoals of their own kind, not as individuals or pairs.
As individuals or pairs one usually becomes hyper aggressive, and harasses the other, and as it matures, will often attack other cichlids in the tank
In nature, they are a social species usually found in groups of 5 or more (the more the better) of their own kind.
They usually only break off as pairs when spawning, and then later rejoin the Thorichthys shoal.
Same goes for other social shoaling genera, like Cribroheros, amd many Geophagines.

 

[Krackar]

All Thorichthys like to be kept in shoals of their own kind, not as individuals or pairs.
As individuals or pairs one usually becomes hyper aggressive, and harasses the other, and as it matures, will often attack other cichlids in the tank
In nature, they are a social species usually found in groups of 5 or more (the more the better) of their own kind.
They usually only break off as pairs when spawning, and then later rejoin the Thorichthys shoal.
Same goes for other social shoaling genera, like Cribroheros, amd many Geophagines.

Good to know, thank you for this information. I really like the Maculipinnis and maybe one day will have the opportunity to have a species only tank.