fighting already???

[sheamurai]

Hey all
My JDs are only 2" long, and in a 4' tank at the moment, and I caught them today in a long-lasting liplock.

Now, my optimistic self is hoping that its part of the mating game, but reality check assumes that they are already having dominance/territory issues.

Can anyone confirm one way or the other?
Would they really be having issues already so young?
They are still too young for me to really decide which I want to keep...

[MCHRKiller]

Given their size...it is territory. How many do you have in the 4ft tank? You wont see mating behavior until about 4-5" in all honesty.

[sheamurai]

Crap! Already!
geeeez

ok, thanks Jenn.
Looks like I gotta seriously start shopping for that 6' tank, not just browsing for it. Sigh.

I didn't think they'd start that nonsense til they were a yr old at least...

[MCHRKiller]

Cichlids can sometimes shock you with their aggression. My 3" A.orbicularis were intollerant of each other to the point one beat the other nearly to death within a couple of hours of not watching them...in a 6ft tank with more than ample cover. Honestly I would take the most aggressive one to the shop and see if it curbs the other fish's aggression any. Chances are it wont stop in a slightly larger tank.

[Lab_Rat]

Jack Dempseys are named after a boxer for a reason...you're prob just beginning to see the aggression.

[sheamurai]

Guess I'll see about getting one out of there...I just wish I had an idea of how they colour up...they are both the same size, one is very dark with some spangles on the fins, and the other is light with more body spangles but less on the fins...I have no idea how they will look when mature...Gr!

[MCHRKiller]

Pick your fav and move on, best to that than end up with only 1 in the end anyway.

[Lady Hobbs]

:hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange: Cichlids are just so loveable, aren't they?

[sheamurai]

Any thoughts on if they might be two males or two females? Is one any more likely to fight over territory than the other?

[MCHRKiller]

Personality really. I have had female cichlids MUCH more aggressive than males and had more aggressive males before. Typically males are more territorial than females, rules such as this do not always apply to cichlids tho. The dark vs light coloration could be mood, 2" is a bit small to try to sex the fish. You could divide the tank if you wanted to grow them out and keep the better looking of the 2.