Excessive Aggression between my juvenile pair of A.Borellii.

[Memeboi]

I have a 10g tank with a juvenile pair of A.Borellii, I hope to breed them one day but right now there is a rather big issue, the aggression in the tank is out of hand, every time the female goes towards ether of the 2 main structures of the tank (fake driftwood and a resin rock hide) the male chases her out, I have a large amount of plants and leaves, but it doesnt seem to help, here is picture of the tank, it has a Penn Plax cascade 300 filter and is on ambient heat (around 72f)
Edit : btw they are about 3-4 cm and
I've had them for a month now.

 

[Wazaaaa]

For me, this is clearly too small. Dwarf cichlids are not monogamous and long term maintenance must be done in pairs in a tank with a minimum floor area of 80 cm. In 10 gallons, one of the partners is condemned, either the female if the couple does not agree, or the male if there is a spawning.

 

[MacZ]

Correctly sexed?
Do you have a picture from the setup before the plants grew in or can you make a drawing of the position of the structures?

 

[MacZ]

For me, this is clearly too small. Dwarf cichlids are not monogamous and long term maintenance must be done in pairs in a tank with a minimum floor area of 80 cm. In 10 gallons, one of the partners is condemned, either the female if the couple does not agree, or the male if there is a spawning.

A. borellii are usually ok in that tank size, if the tank is done well. I would also prefer a 80x35 footprint.

So here it could be wrongly sexed fish or bad structures.

Oh and it could indeed also be the fish are not A. borellii at all and misidentified.

 

[Wazaaaa]

So here it could be wrongly sexed fish or bad structures.

Oh and it could indeed also be the fish are not A. borellii at all and misidentified.

It's possible, but for me the A. Borelli is not a small specimen that can be put in 48 L

 

[MacZ]

It's possible, but for me the A. Borelli is not a small specimen that can be put in 48 L

I just saw it's a 10 gallon, which is even less. Only about 40 liters. I mixed up the footprints of a 10 and a 15.

Yeah... well... time to get a second tank to separate them.

 

[Memeboi]

I just saw it's a 10 gallon, which is even less. Only about 40 liters. I mixed up the footprints of a 10 and a 15.

Yeah... well... time to get a second tank to separate them.

Really? From most of the stuff I've seen its seems that Borellii are ok in a 10g, rn I don't actually have any other tanks apart from this one and a community 37g with a full grown dwarf gourami that would probably not get along well with ether one of the Borellii, I think I might just make a divider and keep it there until they get to breeding age.

 

[Memeboi]

Also Im 100% sure that they are a pair of opal Borellii

 

[anewbie]

I've kept two male borelli in a 10 before and they just ignore each other. They are normally a very passive fish. Given they are young is there any chance they are not borelli ?

 

[Mike Wise]

A 10 gal tank can work - if you're an experienced apisto breeder and willing to risk loss of one of the "pair". Otherwise a 15 would be the minimum that I'd recommend.

 

[Memeboi]

A 10 gal tank can work - if you're an experienced apisto breeder and willing to risk loss of one of the "pair". Otherwise a 15 would be the minimum that I'd recommend.

well I guess the popular fish care guides I read have fooled me again, well im going to make a divider now bc I see no other option, both of them are really precious to me and I dont have any other tanks set up, so.....

 

[MacZ]

well I guess the popular fish care guides I read have fooled me again,

Does any of them belong to a company that sells aquarium related stuff? If so, delete the bookmark.

 

[Jon Webb]

I have a 10g tank with a juvenile pair of A.Borellii, I hope to breed them one day but right now there is a rather big issue, the aggression in the tank is out of hand, every time the female goes towards ether of the 2 main structures of the tank (fake driftwood and a resin rock hide) the male chases her out, I have a large amount of plants and leaves, but it doesnt seem to help, here is picture of the tank, it has a Penn Plax cascade 300 filter and is on ambient heat (around 72f)
Edit : btw they are about 3-4 cm and
I've had them for a month now.
View attachment 11691

I think MacZ is getting at the right thing. Instead of consulting the usual commercial sites, which give you simplistic advice (likethe 16yo at the chain store), trust experienced fishkeepers (like here), and your own observation. Your borellis never got the memo about living in a 10 gallon tank. Listen to them.