Venustus & zebra obliquidens. .how aggressive?

[dianas]

Hey all. I was thinking of adding a Venustus & Zebra Obliquiden to my stock list for my 120g all male tank. For those who have these guys, will they be any trouble to add to my following planned stock list? Don't want to add them if they are going to be a lot more aggressive than the fish I've picked out. (tank is 120g, 5ft. Fish will be all males) Thanks!

Aulonocara Benga Yellow
Aulonacara Flavescent Ussisya
Aulonacara Sp. Lwanda Red Top
Aulonacara Neon Violet Ungi
Aulonacara Sp. Ruby Red
Aulonacara Stuartgranti Ngara
Oto. Litho. Zimbawe Yellow Blaze
Placidochromis Phenochilus
Protomelas Taiwan reef
Pseudotropheus Acei Luwala (2)
Protomelas Sp. Red Empress
Yellow Lab (2)
Rusty

 

[JonV]

Diana,

I have both of these species myself in my 180. Though I have a different mix then what you have in the 120, from what I have seen, I probably would not add a Nimbochromis Venustus to my mix again if I could go back and do it. I like the looks of a Venustus myself, but they grow very big in size, and they have a tendency to target smaller fish, almost like an Oscar does. They are a little less aggressive then an Oscar in that regard, but in their natural habitat, Venustus are a piscovore in which many times they will play dead in the sand and wait for unsuspecting fry to wander by and eat them. Nice looking fish, but a bit too aggressive I would think, especially since you'd be looking for a male.

I also have Astatotilapia Lafasciata, as do a few other Victorian keepers I know on here. This species also is fairly aggressive. When I first picked up this species, I had my group, 2 males 4 females in a 100 gallon tank, also inhabited with my trio of Pytchochromis Oligocanthus, which is a decent sized growing Madagascar type. Even the female Lafasciata were harassing the male Oligocanthus which was at least twice their size. Recently, out of those 6 Lafasciata, I moved a male and female pair over to my 75 gallon tank in a all Mbuna setting, and both male and female have shown signs of being aggresive on everyone in that tank. I fixed that problem adding in more rock work to compensate for it, but just keep in mind, both the species you are asking about show aggressive tendancies. I probably wouldn't do it myself, but you also have a good mix of males already. It may keep things in check. My opinion though, I'd opt not to add these two.

 

[Red Devil]

for me the male venustus i have is a peach... just last month added my male red fin to the 125gal fearing i may have trouble with my huge male venustus.with the big male redfin. not one bit of trouble has been noticed... they both swim together and cohabitate with no problems.. i do not have my O. zebras in the 125gal as yet.. but they are in a tank with two males O.zebras and female red fins and some others.. no problems there either.. if i was doing an all male tank.. i would need to try the two you mentioned simply because they are beautiful and surely add some beautiful color and size to an all male tank.. i think all fish are individuals ..so very hard to say whether this set up will work or not.. any one of malawi mbuna or peacocks or even frontosa can be a bully.. but in an all male tank i think most would mind their business.

 

[superleggera123]

Venustus can be aggressive so be careful,, i think it comes down to personality, some Venustus can be a charm to keep and some can be MEAN!.. i personally have one, He is 6 inches and is aggressive to everyone but not that mean. He never targets the small yellow labs but gets aggressive with my Hap ahli so be careful. Again make sure the Venustus isnt bigger than any other fish in ur tank.

~superleggera123

New to MFK
i am 16
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[siebertn]

I have kept a few of these in the last 5 years and all of them got along in my community tank except the last two which killed or tried to kill everything in there tank.
They both died in the last week after fighting for 2 days non stop.
They have nice clour when they mature but I don’t think ill be adding another one soon.