Hey ben, like you I've been in the hobby for a very long time. I've tried many things to control aggression. Alot of decor rocks and caves. Plants (artificial). Limited time lights were on. Water temp in tank and a few other ideas. I find the number one way to keep African chiclids is overstocking you're tank this has worked for me amazingly well. However even that doesn't work for certain as you say jerk fish. Absolutely nothing works for them so you're advice is tested and true. The only thing you can do is let them live alone or rehome them that's it. Well that's my two cents take care and be well ben!

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Truth Michael!

Sharing with us a years learning curve, in a short video, means saving money, time and bad emotions for suscribers like me. Thank you Ben. 👍🏻

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

You are welcome😀👍🏻

Probably the best tip of all with keeping African Cichlids. Speaking from experience it's not worth loosing 3 fish due to an overly aggressive jerk fish. Weigh your odds and remove the jerk fish and watch the tank settle down 😎

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

That's it exactly Jon. And in my case it required the re-homing of 3 fish (Dragonblood, Eureka Red and Phoenix) before there was peace.

Exactly! And complimentary to this tip - watch your tank very closely if any damage or signs of bullying arise. I had a jerk fish this year that killed 2 fish before I caught him & re-homed. I only caught him because I put a security camera on my tank 24/7 and eventually caught the aggression on film. He would only bully fish and chase the fish when I wasn’t around.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Had that a few months ago. Everyone looked fine when I was standing there and each morning a new fish was beaten nearly to death.

@dhammaboy1203

2 жыл бұрын

@@BenOchart I know right! It’s like the fish know not to do it in front of you!? Here’s to hopefully (now) peaceful tanks!

Great video Ben my old school method seems to work well for me. Natural environment style always worked for me. I love to watch my fish going thru the stones and plants. I now have 2 gold sevrums, a convict parrot and blue Acara all doing great. 👍😎

Best advice and it's the only thing that has worked for me.

This is so true! I tried everything to save a couple of fish that were bullies, I last one I put in time out, when I let him out he went bazerk, so we rehomed him to my brother, thanks for the conformation.

@BenOchart

Ай бұрын

I tried all the tips and tricks. A killer nut job fish never seems to change.

Very well said. I agree with you 100%

Thanks for the great video Ben!!!!

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Ed. I assume that you’ll be at Aquashella? If yes, I’ll see you there 😀👍🏻

I finally got peace in my tank. Not by removing the jerks, but by adding one big lazy jerk. He likes his spot under the intake and guards within 6” of it. The rest of the guys seriously chilled out once he became tank boss.

Great video and really good advice. And doesn't just apply to cichlids. Thinking back over the years I've had to rehome or give away some community species. I will send them to their bucket without their supper two times, after that they're out. That recently worked once with a jerk blue guarami. Thank you for all you do.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

I never knew that a blue guarami could act up like that. Thanks!

I found your video because my tank is out of balance with a fish that has become a bully just as you e described. Luckily a breeder I have purchased from before said he would take him and I am definitely going to take him up on his offer. Thanks for the great info.

they fight over who's better looking to me it is and trying to be the next up in line to be boss tank great video bud

Golden rule advice! Enjoy the surf 🏄‍♂️ you guys YICKADEEEE

I agree Ben. All those so called tricks to curb aggression don’t work. Sometimes a fish just has to go. No way to rehabilitate them. Maybe like you said if you find someone who can add him to a large tank with bigger fish will keep them in line. I have not tried that.

It’s sad when you say it, but I totally agree with you. We always want to give it a chance to get along

Ultimate peace and serenity I have found is a planted tank with Geophagus species and colorful, male only Australian Rainbow fish. I would rate catching the jerk fish and deciding what do do with them as double the stress.

Good info and your right..My dam Venustus will not ease up he's in the tank still but I have divider in..All he shows when anyone comes close to it is aggression like if I can only get out all of you are done...beautiful fish hate to get rid of him but more and likely will have to cause he's showing no signs of letting up at all and i tried it myself..keep those videos coming 👌

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

I've been stuck in that conflict. I went through it with the dragonblood, the eureka red and the phoenix. "I'll give him one more week because he's so pretty..." It never ended well.

I know this an old post, but it is still spot on. I'm fairly new to African Cichlids but not new to the hobby or dealing with fish that suddenly turn aggressive. I came into this hobby eye's wide open thanks to research and excellent channels like yours. I made arraignments with friends and 3 local shops anticipating that I would need to re-home at some point. My motto is one fish is not bigger than the community. I actually look for aggression traits while in QT. I use two tanks and slowly separate the happy just want to swim fish from the its my hide space and I will chase / kill everyone that comes near. I've learned that knuckle heads in QT will be knuckle heads in the show tanks.I try the timeout / separation tricks but they rarely work. I try to give them a chance to reset as its no fun re-homing a stunner.

@BenOchart

4 ай бұрын

Spotting in QT is brilliant! Saves so much time and frustration. Thanks!

Great information, thanks

In my experience. Theres always. That one bully in the tank. It never fails. 🤣. 🐠

Thank you, this really helped me I just diddent think the small ones could be so mean.

@BenOchart

Жыл бұрын

Size is not always tied into attitude. In my current 210 gallon tank the meanest fish in there is the Salvini and she’s smaller than most the fish in there but she has lots of attitude.

That’s good advice, I have moved one fish for eating others.

Good advice Ben I had to take a dragon blood cichlid back to store had all my fish on one side of my tank

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

I hope it wasn't the Dragonblood that I dropped off at the Aquatic Critter in Nashville, LOL! He sold in 10 seconds and I was praying for the new owner, LOL!

OMG this is hilarious to me, because you are so right. I touched on this in my video. A jerk fish is not worth it. I will try it in another tank with other fish, because each fish tank community have different levels of aggression, different levels of tolerance, different sizes of fish, and sometimes the right tank boss. After those considerations fail …………. I get’em gone.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Yes. I then we hang on because "he's so pretty..." and he destroys two more fish.

Your spot. On ben. The only solution is to get him out of the tank 🐠

I have had luck with placing them in a separate tank for a month or longer and then rearrange the tank and added it back and then it calmed down. Doesn't always work but worth a try if you not willing to give up on the fish yet. Happy fish keeping. 👍✌️

Good advice. I just had to get rid of a jerk angel fish and my tank is much happier

Good morning Ben!

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Good morning Logan.

I totally agree god knows how many fish I had to gift it to my local fish shop all beautiful fish but big jerks

Hello Ben, been a while since I have comment. My time out solution that I use every few months sometimes long is as follows: I rap the tank up in a black sheet, no light or food for three days. When I in rap the tank, all is well everyone are friends, till the next time.

I over stock and keep them as tight and compacted as possible but make sure your water quality is still up there

Man you have a lot of dressed up fish in there Ben good job

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Hello Deon!

@Deon0026yickadee

2 жыл бұрын

@@BenOchart I want a tank again so bad I’m glad I can at least enjoy yours!

AGREED. MY RAINBOW SHARK THAT WAS SO SWEET HAS DONE A COMPLETE 180 AND TARGETING ALL THE OTHER FISH CONSTANTLY 😩. FOR NOW I AM LOOKING INTO A DIVIDER UNTIL I CAN GET ANOTHER TANK

Hi Ben, strangely enough I had two fish in my Mbuna tank that were getting beaten to death by every other fish in the tank. They couldn't rest or hide anywhere. In this case I removed the 2 fish to another aquarium on their own and I have had 2 months of peace in the tank(s).

I subscribed to you because I rescued two different African cichlids that were being bullied in their tank, and they are an entirely different kind of fish than what I’m used to keepin, and I’m totally out of my element. I am retired so all I do is stare at my fish tanks. That is kind of what I was wondering, is like how much aggression is too much; or what should I expect. first I need to figure out what my second fish is 😀I know my first one is a polar blue tiger parrot Cichlid.

Had to do exactly this recently, even after upgrading tank sizes, the same 3 fish just caused chaos. After getting rid of them, the tank is much more relaxing

Hi Ben, I have a livingstonei cichlid in my 345 litre tank which is being aggressive with my peacock cichlids, he is only chasing them around from time to time So no damage yet, if I see more arrive behavior I will do as you suggest and remove it. However as you know, there is always going yo be one fish that wants to be the boss in a cichlids fish tank. Oh way the way, I’m in the uk. I’ve watched lots of your very informative videos. Keep up to great work dude, we are all learning something new every day about the hobby. Great job and beautiful aquarium you have. Best regards, Denn

@BenOchart

Ай бұрын

Yes, continue to monitor closely. Livingstonii are far more aggressive than peacocks. However, if he settles down once established as the tank boss, you’ll have a better tank because I’ve found that peacocks will destroy each other, but not if there’s a bigger worry, like a Livingstonii. One of my most well behaved tanks I had was run by a 10” Venustus that would cruise around and break up fights. He was like a playground monitor🤣

@user-rm5he9wq8z

Ай бұрын

@@BenOchart hi Ben, thank you so much for replying yo my message. I really appreciated your input and advice. Yes,min will be keeping an eye on my 5 inch livingstoni. Cichlid, he is not biting or stack any of my peacock cichlids, he just charges at a bunch of them 5 or 10 minutes when the tank lights go on, on a morning, then when I feed them, he behaves him self. I have a mbun tank, a brichardi tank, a peacock tank which is my largest aquarium, and a community tank, or yes a fry tank which is full of baby peacocks, so a lot to look after, particularly as I’m disabled ex army veteran in my 70s. The mbuna cichlids are moving on, as they are very aggressive toward each other and they make a mess of the aquarium with their constant digging and moving coral sand around. I have send loads of people feedback and messages on Utube, but rarely do I get a reply, so I’m particularly grateful that you kindly took the time to reply to my message about my livingstonei cichlids. I believe it’s a haplocromis so it will get very big, I’ve been told about 10 inches, but I doubt I will have him that long. You mentioned you had a x1- inch venustus cichlid, I have 4 in my peacock tank, at the moment they are about 5 inches in size and they are one of my favorite fish. I have some jacob Freiburg , lemon peacocks, 6 blue dolphins and 7 clown loaches, I guess there are approximately 30 cichlid, plus 4 or 5 small plecs. I would appreciate any advice you have on looking after peacocks and haps, any trouble shooting would be great too. Further more, I have watched many Utube videos on cichlids, and it seems there are thousands and hundreds of keen fish keeping hobbyists in the world which is great as we can share information and tips and advice which will make the hobby more interesting and enjoyable. Take care and stay safe Ben. Kind regards from Denn, disabled and retired ex British army veteran.

I have learned that the hard way.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Honestly, me too!

I just had to rehome a blue cobalt cichlid last week because he was jerk fish and was constantly sparring with another cobalt until one day he was not letting up and they were both causing damage. The tank was better after I pulled him out; however, when the other fish were working out the new hierarchy I lost a Snow White Albino cichlid due to aggression. This fish was not a problem before. It's crazy how things work out sometimes.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

In a nanosecond a cichlid tank can go from calm to a Battle Royale. It keeps us on our toes!

I totally agree I also had to give away a bunch of fish fish to the local fish shop in order to have peace in my tank😂😂😂

True

So to make story short , get more tanks so you can move the aggressive fish. Then back to lfs and buy more then do the same thing if things occurs again?.

Bought baby red terror-watch waited zero aggression-1yr.later hitting my Jagg..once Dominated but chill tank.. This Red terror grows 12”-huge tank..I know American but helped me either way

Fingers crossed 🤞 I hope it works. I tried a new boss came into play

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Always one fish wanting to take that top spot. Right now it looks like the livingstonii is the top dog in my 210 gal tank. If he gets out of line I'll have to give him away.

@Cichlid_4_ever

2 жыл бұрын

@@BenOchart see that’s the struggle I went through and now I’m down to 4 with a divider and it’s so annoying

Although I do have some aggression going on I don’t have a fish that’s killing tank mates. Every aggressor I have has a tank mate that can put it in its place 😂. If one is being too much of a jerk to another I usually have one that will step in a break up the dust up to settle them down.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Hey Bigg Rigg, Sounds like you've got a good balance there.

What TYPE of lights/ lighting please !

Did u bring your jerk back to the pet store for them to resell or put him online for someone to rehome? I feel bad in either case cause my jerk is absolutely dreadful I'd hate to put that burden on someone else.

Hey. No rocks / hiding places or loads of rocks ?

I’ve had probably a hundred cichlids. Nobody could hold a candle to my blue peacock jerk. He killed a lot of fish, but I rehomed him 😊

having problem with my oscars .their eggs are not hatching for the second time .what to do ? thanx

** long post, pls read** I’m not sure if this is actually true, but I’ve always kept only males, in abundance, but never any females. Decades ago, I was at my local fish breeder, who told me that if you keep a tank full of only males, it will cut down on the aggression, but if I include females, it will greatly increase the aggression, especially during mating season. I have a custom made 350 gallon tank, with several dozen cichlids of every different category, shape, and color, but again they are all male, and so far so good. In almost 20 years I have only had a few fish that were bullies, so I tried a little trick I picked up from my father, who has been breeding them his entire life. I isolated the bully in fish jail…. Just a plexiglass container I made with plexiglass and aquarium silicone…you put in this tank in a tank, that’s approximately the size of a 20 gallon tank, to give them ample room to move around, until they finally settle down. When you first put them in the isolation, aka, fish, jail, they are majorly PO’d, and will still try to attack the fish because they can’t see the plexiglass between them, but after about 24 hours they calm right down, and I have never ever had to keep one in jail for more than 48 hours…it works, seriously, maybe because they’re all males? The moment I put them back in the general population, they behave themselves. People greatly underestimate the intelligence of fish. They’re not stupid, each one has its own unique personality, it’s own little quirks, and because I also have 6 very large adult clown loaches in there with them, it adds a little humour to the tank (they kill me, they sleep laying on their side at the bottom of the tank, or floating, upside down on the surface, just playing dead, but every time I put my hand in the tank to clean it, they’re literally jumping into my hand, wanting to play, so I’ll pick them up, toss them back in the water, and they come right back to my hand for more, and that’s no exaggeration, I never thought a fish could be affectionate, but I swear to God, that’s exactly what they do, probably because I raised them ever since they were just a small fry) and they also keeps the cichlids in check, because they’re actually afraid of the clown loaches, which are about 20% bigger than they are. Out of all tropical fish, cichlids and clown loaches are my two favorite, and because my tank is right beside my TV, I find myself watching the tank more than I watch the television, it’s more entertaining! Has anybody else experienced this as well? Anybody else have nothing but males in the tank? I’ve asked around, but it seems I’m the only person who does this, but my intent is not to breed them, if it was, obviously, I would have a much different set up, but in all these years, I’ve had almost no problems with a tank filled with dozens cichlids and clown loaches (my cichlids range anywhere between 5 to 7 inches long from mouth to tail, but my clown loaches are up to 10 inches long, usually it depends on the size of the tank, the more space they have the bigger they grow, and they never stop eating, either species is constantly hungry, so you have to be careful not to overfeed them, as it will pollute the water, throwing off the bio-load, making the fish very sick, I learned that the hard way when I was younger.). Ps - no disrespect intended, but I did add a lot of shale (there is an old quarry within walking distance from my house) so I created a Fish condo out of the rocks I collected there, and it works wonderfully, each one has their own specific hiding spot, that is theirs, and there is a loan, but I found that it works really well, again, possibly because they are all the same gender. I wouldn’t dare put a female in the tank, she would be attacked instantly, and the other competitors would attack each other to get to her, just like in real life! Lol!

I have a bumblebee Cichlid and a yellow electric Cichlid and the bumblebee won’t leave my electric fish alone. He keeps circling my fish. Poking my fish towards the end of its body and vibrating against my fish lmao. Are they fighting or mating? It’s been going on for days!

I have a fusco he used to be a killer I guess still he is he ripped out my lemon jackes left eye ( which I still have). I finally found a solution for this. Have roved all my decors exept a huge rock in middle of my tank now there no aggression for past 6months all my guys are swiming allover the tank it used to be my alpha and beta holding the whole bottom earlier some how the climing territory business stoped after the move.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, many have reported that "nothing to claim" removing all the decor can calm things down. The problem I ran into was that when one fish in that set up lost his mind there was no place to hide. Nothing to break the line of sight. But it sounds like it's working for you and that's a good thing!

I have 2 in solitaire confinement.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Now comes the difficult decision of what to do when they come out of solitaire, especially if they pick up where they left off.

I have three turquoise severums and one of them has grown quite a bit and is now picking on my red shoulder that is bigger than him. The red shoulder is now always in hiding and does not come out to the general group for feeding and feeds at a distance and it breaks my heart because when the fish were smaller, he was the king of the tank and it’s not fair to him. I tried the timeout method and it seem to work for a few weeks and after a period of time, the jerk came back. I love my severum but it’s time for him to go.

@BenOchart

Ай бұрын

Sadly that's been my final conclusion as well. Jerks will be jerks and the only real solution is moving them out of the tank. This has forced me to give away some spectacular looking fish over the years, but I didn't want the stress for me and the tank mates.

I recently rehomed my polar blue cichlid because he was bothering EVERYONE. Very cute but not worth the stress in my mostly peaceful South America tank.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

I think it’s bad for the fish and for us the fish keeper as well!

Good Morning Ben, I literally just went through this in my all male Mbuna tank. My Yellow Lab went from a sweat and sensitive tank boss to a super aggressive terror. Came home one day from picking up an OB Zebra, and there was my Kenyi being pounded into the sand by an enraged tank boss. That was the last straw, I ended up removing him out for 2 week then tried to place him back but he immediately went right back to the old ways which forced me to rehome. Interestingly enough after I removed him, the entire tank did not have a boss and It was completely calm copesetic. But this to shall pass, kind of like a honey moon period. The new OB took the mantel and is being pretty bossy but fair enough to all. I just thought it was cool that my tank went through a phase of no tank boss and it was wonderful!

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, I had a short period like that. I think they didn't notice that no one was in charge. They assumed that there was a boss and grateful that they were not running into him, LOL! Now my Livingstonii is acting like he wants to be the boss. I'll watch and if he's a peaceful boss he can stay, but if he's a bully he's out of here!

Hi Ben. Yes unfortunately it's the only way I know to bring back the harmony to the group. Of course being cichlids they are all going to bicker. 🙂

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Yes. I don't mind the bickering, the occasional chase. It's that relentless "I'm gonna chase and kill you" fish that I have to move quickly and remove. I've been to patient in the past. "Maybe it will work itself out" "Give it a week..." etc. Several dead fish later I get rid of the bully.

I have a blue nyassae peacock who is slightly bigger than most of my fish, some are juveniles, I am only just starting out but he guards an entire half of my tank constantly chasing all the other fish off(though I think he’s actually second in the hierarchy, one of my other peacocks does chase him off but doesn’t really challenge him). How do I know he won’t settle, I’m not totally against removing him but I want to give him a chance, he’s been in about two weeks now wish new fish being added. I have 18 peacocks in a 55 gallon ( filtered at 4000l/h to cover the waste turnover and two water changes a week).

@BenOchart

2 күн бұрын

My concern here is the stress that he is creating for the other fish. Be sure that they can get to the food and are not too afraid to eat. Stress will cause disease and other issues. If he doesn't stop in 3 or 4 weeks I would consider removing him.

@jakebeckett9051

Күн бұрын

@@BenOchartThankyou for your response, I’ll keep an eye on it, it’s not calmed down so far, I think another couple of days and I will make the call if it hasn’t stopped. Subscribed any how, will look forward to seeing more of your content!

The weird thing is.. My jerk fish is a female Frontosa, I know she´s a female because she laid eggs multiple times but there was no male. Because she kills them all. She leaves the white lips alone which are basically fry and a random small mbuna I adopted from someone. But as soon as I try to add some Frontosa she turns into a killing machine. I don´t get it

Can I keep Blue dolphin cichlid around 5 inch size, both male together?

@BenOchart

8 ай бұрын

They can be hard on each other. Believe it or not, 1 or like 5 or 6 can be the way to go with dolphins.

The torque jewel chichclidsy are so aggressive that irritates the big fish also

I always get rid of the overly aggressive fish. Why let 1 jerk fish ruin it for everyone?

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

Truth.

100% get rid of an aggressive fish maybe u dont want to cuz u like it but it is the easiest solution I gave a red shoulder to my buddy hes been in his mbuna tank over 3 yrs now maybe he was a mbuna in his previous life lol

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

LOL! Maybe??? LOL!

@frankiefingerz8047

2 жыл бұрын

No u misunderstood i agree w u def get rid of an aggressive fish thats attacking ur other fish

Lol. Video summary: Bad fish? Take it out.

the problem with african cichlid aggression is mostly because of the fact that many people keep them in those overcrowded male only tanks because the males are colorful, these fish arent build to be with other males and should have more females.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

You might be on to something. But if there's a female and it pairs up, the male goes insane chasing everybody off.

It's timing size temperament selection, an it depends if you've let a male become tank boss, talk to me I've had every fish marine an fresh talk to me

@bennybenben6290

8 ай бұрын

I have an aggressive female red tail shark about 4 1/2 inches living alone with about 15 xray tetras in a 75gal. She has already chased to death 3 other fish (gourami and mollies) I'm growing out a few African cichlids in a 20. my question is, should I isolate her in the tank with a breeder net while I introduce the cichlids? or give them a chance to see how they all behave together?

@bennybenben6290

8 ай бұрын

To add, my end goal is to just have a cichlid tank with a red tail shark in there

@sjohnson800

8 ай бұрын

@@bennybenben6290 sorry but you can't mix the red tail with the cichlids

I have a problem with a convict cichlid, so I will have to move him out!

But what if most of the fishes are jerk? 😔

@BenOchart

Жыл бұрын

Start getting rid of them, starting with the worse one first and hope it settles down

Hey! By rehoming you mean give him out for adoption or taking him back to the store? Both? I’m a bit shy of going back to the store so I’d like to know what’s the plan some of you might’ve followed.

@BenOchart

13 күн бұрын

Local fish stores will usually take a fish back and sometimes give you a store credit. Listing the fish on Craig's List or FB marketplace or something along those lines can also create interest.

On my Peacock side I would throw them in my Mbuna tank and they would get their rear handed to them and then I would put them back in main tank problem solved.

What I like to do is move the aggressive tank boss to the hospital rearrange the tank. I let a new fish become tank boss for a few days then reintroduce the aggressor.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

I've tried that and it works, unless the fish is a lunatic, then it doesn't matter if you rearrange the decor, lower the temp, feed 4 times a day, nothing works, he just continues beating up his tank mates. That's when you have to rehome.

Wish I would of watched this before put a yellow lab with my peakocks 😢

@BenOchart

Жыл бұрын

That's how I learned. The hard way.

@loverpooltiger

Жыл бұрын

@@BenOchart I took him back to the shop and swapped him for a peakock. My aquarium is peaceful again .

Now I just need to convince the wife. It happens to be her oldest and favorite fish...and a daddy. But man.. he is in a 300 gallon tank and still is nuts. Hence his name Bundy.

@BenOchart

Жыл бұрын

🤣 Bundy got to go 😂

@Amberdogproductions

Жыл бұрын

@@BenOchart gone...in a little 75 now. Giving me the stink eye.

Not your average gen pop fish 😂😂

@BenOchart

Жыл бұрын

😂 exactly

Sounds like floods advice, tell that jerk fish get lost !

My albino blood dragon hasn't killed anybody yet but he bullies every other fish in the tank. He won't let any breeding pairs alone he bullies males and females alike. He might have to go to the bathroom.

@BenOchart

2 жыл бұрын

LOL, please don't flush that fish, LOL! Give him to a local fish store. Maybe they can find a home where he'll be the sub-dominant fish in the tank.

@elizabethwagner2190

2 жыл бұрын

@@BenOchart I said a walk. Outside is about 13 degrees Fahrenheit right now. He's not seriously injured anyone but he is a jerk and my fish store doesn't want him although they could sell him for 5x's what I paid and he is beautiful.

I laugh when I see ppl posting videos like this its their nature being aggressive cant ever change the way they act or behavior its how they are