# 45g reterritorization



## colorblizzle (Oct 28, 2012)

I have a 45 gallon tank ill leave out equiptment details to keep this short and sweet. Feel free to ask tho. I have a little over 100lbs of slate 5 caeruleus 5 socolofi and a bristlenose pleco. Im planning on adding 5 sprengerae soon. I have had some agression between my socolofi. And also my labs tend to hide more than normal as im guessing the socolofi has dominated the tank. so today i moved alot of the rock around creating 2 peaks and a small valley (would attach photo but dont know howl Also i turned off the lights and covered the tank with a blanket and will be removing it in a few days. Is this a good way to balance the tank and remove territories? Didnt really research how just figured this would work.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

first of all i would suggest removing the pleco...it doesn't belong with african rift lake species...
i would almost bet that you have the slate arranged in nice neat little open caves so you can always see the fish...kind of the wrong thing to do as the fish have no real protection from the others...
your substrate should be something like crushed coral or dolomite...use round and odd shaped rocks from fist sized to 8-10" sized...pile them up almost to the top of the tank..no neat arrangements.. piles with openings big enough for fish to get through...
this will also help them to feel safe so they will come out in the open more...
here is a pic of an old 38 gallon tank ..not many rocks because there were only a few fish...


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## colorblizzle (Oct 28, 2012)

No i pit the slate in so it would stack easily without falling over but thats it. Not like bricks. Id upload a pocture but dont know how. And i actually am in the process of switching it ober to sand and boulders


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## kay-bee (Dec 6, 2006)

Mbuna's are territorial fish by nature and the dominant one(s) within the tank will always try to establish and protect territories (using aggression); their inherent territoriality can be managed but not 'removed'.

Lots of rocks (which provide territory for the dominant one's and hiding spots for the sub-dominant ones as well as break line of sight which is important), proper tank length/size, appropriate group size, idea gender ratio's and so-on can be used to manage territoriality.

The average male socolofi (and females as well) is more territorial and aggressive when compared to their yellow lab or rusty peers, so it's pretty much destined that a socolofi would exert dominance in your tank. In my tanks it takes a zebra (metriaclima genus) to counter/surpress socolofi friskiness.

Once the the blanket is removed and the lighting is restored the socolofi's may resume their activity, especially if you have multiple male socolofi's. I think your measures have only 'paused' the territoriality. What's the status to date?

You may ultimately require a larger tank (55-75gal), as a 45gal is on the small side when it comes to mbuna's and smaller tanks can amplify aggression.


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## colorblizzle (Oct 28, 2012)

Status update:

Only left the blanket on overnight. They seem calmer but agression is still there they just attack eachother now for the most part they leave the labs alone. In the next few weeks i am resttucturing my tank using different rocks and sand/coral gravel as a substrate. I have not vented but i believe my ratio is 3m/2f so in 2 weeks when my LFS gets more in im swapping the 2 suspected males oit and hoping for a better ratio in round 2. Well aware i need a larger tank 100+ gallons is my goal in time but right now i live in an apartment and they wont let me have larger than a 3ft tank. Probably would have had better luck with a 40g breeder


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## colorblizzle (Oct 28, 2012)

Hey how do i do a cool status thing like at the bottom of your reply with ur temp etc.


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