Not to derail but sinch this is a thread about thoricthys and they are being discussed it seemed a good place to ask a question.
I have 8 ellioti I have been growing out since November. the big male is pushing 5" the two smaller males are around 4" and they are already flareing and being extreamly territorial with one another. Should I be concerned about flareing becoming out right fights in an inch or so?
of the others 3 are definately female 2 of them are around 4" and the other 2 I am unsure of at this point.
end goal is to move them to my 125g with electric blue acara . Should I keep all 8 or bring the group down to 5?
I would definitely not recommend you thin down the group. the more thorichthys you have,the better your chances of keeping a group successfully.
Infact it may be worth, if possible, getting a few more.
I had 12 helleri that I kept in a 4 foot for a while and I had no aggressive issues.I moved them to my 7x2x2 tank and I noticed an increase in aggression. Nothing to be too concerned about but definitely an increase.
Maculipinnis, (which is what ellioti are now known as)are generally considered the most aggressive of the thorichthys, so you will need plenty of decor to break up territories. It's also good if fish can get out of sight of each other when they need to.
You will witness a big upward step in aggression when they start to breed, Other members of the group soon learn to keep out of the way of breeding pairs.
Your proposed tank offers enough floor space for this to happen.
If you haven't already got any dither fish I would advise you add a group of swordtails. these will also keep pairs busy when they are defending eggs or young.Taking the eye off the other thorichthys for a while.
Hope this helps,good luck.