Rainbow cichlid help

[Gregorian]

Hi. I had 2 rainbow cichlids (male and female) in a 600mm tank. They were shy, but tolerated me if I stood by the tank.

I moved them to a 900mm tank with lots of plants and 2 flower pots, but they keep hiding at the back or in the pot. Their color changed from red/brownish to nearly grey since and they are very nervous.

I moved them again to a 1.2m tank with lots of plants and hiding places and bought another 2 pair Rainbows. Their colors is still grey and they seem to be scared of the new rainbows and keeps hiding behind a foam filter. One of the new pair took over a flower pot in the middle tank and chase everyone away that comes close. Hopefully they will sort themselves out.

What can I feed them? I use brown cichlids pellets (keeps floating) and spiriluna flakes and sometimes blood worms.

Any idea what can I do about the "fighting" (more plants or rocks) and getting the 2 gray ones to get their color back? They don't seem to be getting along well.

Thanks

[mxz]

The pair chasing the others away are ready to spawn. They turn dark blue/almost black when they defend their eggs. Separate them from the rest.

They others might just be stressed. Give them a few days to adjust.

Another thing, Rainbow cichlids are on the blacklist. Heterotilapia Multispinosa (Rainbow Cichlid)

http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?78-Freshwater-Fish-Blacklist

Best thing to do is return them to your LFS.

[Gregorian]

Not again. I spoke to the Professor a while back and according to him it's not blacklisted. I will just double check on the emails he replied. Just to refresh my memory. The 2 pair was bought privately so don't think I will get my money back anyway.

The pair that is probably breeding has a nice color. Its my first pair thats grey in color and is hiding. They look stressed. Just hope they sort out there problems. Wish someone can put some pictures with the black listed species and put the "normal" name first. Can even pronounce the scientific names.

Thanks anyway.

[Fonkie]

It is not our responsibility to check for fish that is on the blacklist. It is the LPS responsibility to see that they don't stock illigal fish and sell them - they can loose their license. So in my opinion keep the fish and enjoy them afterall what about all the people who buy these fish and arn't on any forums so you will never now about them and they will definitely not take it back.

Getting more fish in that tank will also help with aggresion

F

[Altum]

Policing aside...
Dirk expressed his opinion on the matter.
It was not a legal ruling..just an opinion.
Also he mentioned Jewel cichlids...I can see where some confusion arose.

That does not change the fact that the Rainbow cichlid IS Blacklisted

The rules and regulations on TASA are there to be adhered to.

You agreed to abide by them when you signed up!

...granted the national authorities have got the scientific name/spelling wrong...:cool:
It has been proposed by other governemnt agencies to deregulate Rainbow cichlids, but the outcome is not finalised.

SO until then, current laws are in force.:rolleyes:

[Gregorian]

Morning. Seems like blacklisted species is a never ending story. Would be nice if they change the list so the normal name is in front of the scientific name, but just my opinion.

What do you do if you have a Blacklisted specie? Can you still keep it and not sell it? Probably try to avoid breeding as the problem will only get bigger. How does a specie get blacklisted and why?

Thanks

[mxz]

Read this for more info:

http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?5787-The-Black-List-The-rationale-behind-the-legisslation

I was in the same boat as you. Had a few rainbows not knowing anything about the blacklist. They bred a few times and I didn't know what to do with all the fry. Kept them for a while and then fed the fry to my Polypterus and returned the parents to the LFS.