How Much Aggression is Too Much
I currently have a 75 gal with a Penn-Plax 1200 Canister, about 30 malawi cichlid (18 of which are big enough to keep track of) and teeny tiny mbuna fry that I can’t keep track of so not sure on exact numbers. I rescued them about 3 three weeks ago and just added two new fish yesterday with them after rearranging their coral hardscape and darkening the tank for a while. I added a dragonblood peacock and a polar blue convict.
I hadn’t realized that the blue polar wouldn’t be a good fit for the tank and because he was kept in a tank with Malawi cichlids I had assumed he’d be okay and the fish guy said it was all good (100% my fault for not researching). Now he’s getting picked on by my two biggest cichlids, but the other one isn’t, and the polar blue doesn’t appear to have problems with any others. He also is very not well suited for getting through the coral and I’m worried that will also hurt him along with the bullying. Watching him stress is making me stress, but he’s ate this morning.
I have a ten gallon hospital tank I can put him in if need be, or a planted 25 gal but it has kuhlis, guppies, shrimp, and snails in it so I’m hesitating on that… also have smooth river rocks I want to set up in a couple months but the coral has grown on me a little bit.
I plan on setting up a camera to see how it is when they aren’t being observed. The two bullying fish are in pic 5
Long question short, how do you guys decide when it’s too much aggression and not just a case of establishing a social order?