Cichlidfishcare asked:


When taking care of cichlids, you may notice that as compared to other fishes, cichlids tend to be rather aggressive. One of the most frequently asked questions on cichlid is on their aggression. Why are they so aggressive? Can I stop their aggression? The answers to these questions may be found by understanding their natural behavior.

Cichlids don’t live in an aquarium where everything is well taken care of. Cichlids live in the wild: in rivers and lakes where there are plenty of predators and other fishes. They have to be tough to survive. They have to be aggressive in obtaining a territory, getting a mate and defending their off-springs.

Thus, when they are brought from the wild and raised in an aquarium, they act the same way. The fight for food, they fight for territory and they fight to get a partner.

This aggression becomes much more apparent when they defend their off-springs. Cichlid frys do get attacked and eaten by other fishes because they are so small and vulnerable. Thus, cichlids need to be aggressive to drive away all predators.

Once you understand their natural behavior and instincts, it becomes easier for you to control their aggression. You need to give them a territory, a place for them to breed and feed. If you can do so, you will find that cichlids are quite easy to keep and care for.

Cichlid, like most animals, uses their surrounding objects to define their territory. If you have a bare tank, the cichlids in the tank will most probably claim the entire tank as his own and fight with every other fish. Thus, the more objects you have in the tank, the easier it is for cichlids to mark out and define their territory.



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