Irregularities in the water environment cause physical stress, and feeling crowded and threatened creates emotional stress. Cockatoo Cichlids are susceptible to the same parasitic, bacterial, and viral infections that all freshwater fish are prone to.Ĭertainly checking water parameters regularly, avoiding temperature fluctuations, and performing regular water changes will decrease the chance that your Cockatoo Cichlids will fall ill. If you are able to keep a larger tank, you can try more than one male, making sure they have enough caves and plants to keep their distance.Įven if you maintain optimal conditions in your community aquarium, and even if you manage to keep your Cockatoo Cichlids stress-free, there is always the chance that your fish will be stricken with a disease. If you have a dedicated, single species tank, you should keep 1 male and 5 or 6 females - this is called a harem.
Snails Keeping Cockatoo Cichlids TogetherĬockatoo Cichlids do get along together, but it’s a good idea to limit the number of males that you keep in one tank, and you should also provide them space to stake out their own territory in the tank in order to avoid confrontations.Julii Cory Unsuitable tank mates: (because Cockatoo Cichlids will eat them).Since Cockatoo Cichlids are mid-to-bottom dwellers, you could also pair them with upper tank dwellers since Cockatoo Cichlids will not venture to the top of the tank and therefore they won’t interact. Even though Cockatoo Cichlids are sometimes aggressive, they are also shy and will be stressed around fish that are aggressive and also those that are super active. I recommend sticking to fish that are similar in size, as well as fish that are peaceful and non-aggressive. Tank MatesĬockatoo Cichlids are peaceful unless they are breeding or threatened, so they are good community tank inhabitants. The length of the tank is more important than the depth for Cockatoo Cichlids since they will stay in the bottom section of the aquarium. You will need at least a 30-gallon tank for Cockatoo Cichlids although they are not large fish, they need swimming space and they need space to hide and get away from it all. Temperature : 79 – 84☏ (26 – 29☌) What Size Aquarium Do They Need?.Don’t be concerned about this practice–it’s perfectly normal for Cockatoo Cichlids.
Really, they are looking for food scraps in the substrate.
One behavior that might seem odd is that the male Cockatoo Cichlids eat sand–at least, they appear to eat sand. When fish are less stressed, they are able to calm down. Providing a large enough tank and the plants and caves suggested, Cockatoo Cichlids will be able to avoid constant run-ins that bring them stress and cause them to feel territorial. Additionally, they are cave breeders, so if you’re planning on breeding them, the caves will serve a double purpose.īecause the type of aggression they display is a result of feeling threatened, you have the opportunity to defuse their behaviors in significant ways. Other than that, Cockatoo Cichlids are pretty mellow and unassuming, and they get along with other species, so they are good community tank choices.Ĭockatoo Cichlids are shy and need hiding places, so you’ll need to provide them with plants and caves.