New owner of African Cichlids...HELP!

[Kiepay]

:confused: I've recently set up a tank with 4 cichlids. For the first week or so they have been doing well. The last couple days, two of the fish have been staying near the top of the tank. They come down to eat but go right back up. Also, they've been doing this little dance too, the'll be swimming around and stop and do this little shimmy (It's almost like they vibrate).

If anyone knows if this is normal cichlid behavior or if I have some sickly fish, please let me know.

Thanks,
Kiepay

[Lano]

I only have Dwarf African Cichlids... what are your fish called? What do you mean by "they come down to eat"? Isn't the food on top? Sounds normal...

[SnowWhite]

They could be a 'pair'. What type of Africans do you have? Different ones have different mating habits. You can do a search on the type you have and breeding and see what it says about mating habits. Do post what kind you have tho. I'd like to know. I keep Central and south american cichlids myself. (Discus and GBRs.)

[Lano]

Somebody else on this site gave me this: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/Grenfell_Apistogramma.html

Do your cichlids' behaviour match the breeding thingy at the bottom?

[SnowWhite]

Lano.. that site was for Apistogramma which are a dwarf new world cichlid not African. New world cichlids are from central and south america.... Africans speak for themselves ;) Each different fish tho has different mating behaviors so if Kiepay can let us know what fish she has we can help better