African Cichlids going in circles

[doraemon]

Hi, notice that two of my cichlidsare going in circles movement, sometimes they 'll faced each other as if kissing....wondering why? is one courting another one?

[stormhawk]

doraemon, it could be threat displays. u should ask the African cichlid experts in here.

[Trevor]

Threat displays ? I say its like a mating dance, tail lashing that is.

Rashid u keep apistos right ? U never notice yr apistos tail lashing ah ? Soon after the female turn yellow then its time to lay eggs.

[cloud79]

They could be showing some aggressions or it could be mating but one party does not want to give in. Take no chance and monitor a few days. It could be just showing who is the boss and that all. Minor disputes are common for malawi tank and that is definitely a thrill for me to see them fight. Of coz, when things get too overwhelming ... time to bring one of them to the dark cell!!

[Mez]

Do these cichlids seem to be "vibrating" at all?
Usually the male will vibrate in front of the female when spawning..
If they are both squaring up to each other and shaking, then this is probably aggression.
Mezz

[stormhawk]

Trevor, yea i see my females and males doing the tail lashing though it's not as violent as what u see in the africans . anyway, if the fish are sorta "vibrating" like Mez said, then perhaps they're doing some mating dance. but if they're circling each other and then engaging in some threat displays and biting then they're probably squaring off aka fighting over territory/food/females/ and lots more.

[doraemon]

i din take note got "viberating" or not, but recently no such circling action, i guess they are in mating dance...one is trying & other is escaping...but it is fun to look at as they chased after each other....[:] two days ago just bought a junvenile frontosa...blur fish..cute but shy....comes out when there is food...