while searching on the internet on how to set up a nice cichild home, i came across something that said if you have no caves they wont be able to set up a territory and so they wont fight with each other. is there any truth to that or is it total bull.

No,is not true.

While it's true that they would have nothing to defend it's not really recommended because it gives them no place to hide when being bullied.

The best thing to do would be to add a LOT of hiding places and put only cichlids that are compatible in the aquarium together.

I say maybe 85% truth to that. You got to keep in mind that ALL fish have their very OWN personality. Usually when each Cichlid has their own territory (cave, driftwood, plants) they only fight to defend their particular territory. If 2 Cichlids are kept together and you have 1 cave, the strongest will win the territory and defend it. The other will have to stay away on the other side of the aquarium. It is best to have a cave for each Cichlid in my opinion HOWEVER some Cichlids do fine without a cave with lots of plants around for coverage.

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It depends on what species of Cichlid, how many and what size they are. Some fish are more aggressive as they age other calm down when they age.

Dude thats the best part about having cichlids, watching them face off and chase each other around. I have 7 kribensis in my 135L tank and i have 2 breeding pairs in there. I watch them face off at each other, the males stare each other off and swim at each other and then swim back. (they dont actually attack each other but just do mock charges at each other) (it is quite fascinating and funny to watch, by far the best thing about cichlids)
but anyway give them plenty of caves so as it provides a more natural habitat for them and watch them face each other off! you will be glued to the front of your tank like a teen watching pawn on his computer.

Cichlids are a huge group of fish, from tiny dwarfs to huge pelagic cruising predators.

What you were reading referred to African rift lake cichlids from Lake Malawi. You can set up a tank with males only and no caves or territorial markers. It should be large and crowded, with a big wet/dry filter under the tank. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

This is the theory. Without any females to fight over, guys sit around, drink beer, and watch sports on TV. You are counting on this principle transferring cross species from human to Lake Malawi fish, and except for some species and individuals, it will work. Don't try M. auratus, or buttikoferi. Peacocks (aulonocara et al.) and zebras work well in general with all the fish coloring up. Normally only the dominant fish does this in a regular set up.

It is not something to try with Central and South American cichlids, Lake Tanganyika cichlids, discus, angelfish, or dwarf cichlids like apistogramma, or shell dwellers.

Yes it's true they won't fight over a specific cave territory, but the fish will be stressed and still fight and bully each other. As someone said part of the appeal of watching cichlids is to see them facing off, but if they're not fighting over territory they will just be getting attacked. What's actually interesting is watching them around each others cave territory. It is also very dependent on the cichlid breed. E.g. big africans might get into a fight over territory whereas small south american dwarfs will just display fins and then chase the intruder but this will rarely results in serious damage.

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Also a good thing to do is make complex territories out of lots of rock work so the fish can retreat. Also with dwarf cichlids using lots of plants to break up the sight lines so they can't see other fish can be very effective.

The key is not to overstock the tank. Long story short whatever you read, in my opinion is wrong, i think cichlids being aggressive will still attack the smaller weaker tank members even if there isn't territories.

The best thing to do would be to add a LOT of hiding places and put only cichlids that are compatible in the aquarium together.

cichlids will pick at each other no matter what you do. the key is to have a lot of them in the tank so thier fighting can be spread out among all of them. It also keeps them from getting too territorial since they have no defind territory. The more, the merrier. also more fun to watch.