My sp. 44s used to be so calm and mild mannered...not I don't know who peed in their NLS but man are they FIESTY. I switched the tank around, and moved out some fish and BANG all you hear is splashing, and all you see is lip locks (and not the good ones). My prized, now former, Alpha male is nearly jet black instead of his normal brilliant yellow and black. I am looking at possibly moving a few of them out...it really is a shame because they have all gotten along great up until now.

I have even tried re-arranging again....still no luck. cryyy

I have had mixed results with the Victorians I have kept. My Lipochromis sp. 'Matumbi hunter' males would flare and posture a bit but there was never any physical violence. At the other end of the scale were my Haplochromis sp. 'Porthole'. They did not tolerate each other at all, and I would usually end up with just one fish remaining. FWIW, I found the sp. 44 complex to be of the rougher variety. Good luck with them - they are beautiful and were the fish that introduced me to Vics!

The ones I kept were really good with each other , never any issues to worry about with them. and they bred like wild fire for me. sounds like your right and you will have to split them up or move out the new king of the tank..

I traded mine in for credit at a LFS when I could not move the fry anymore. around the time I had them I could not give them away thumbsdown . but they were very beautiful fish !

My sp. 44 were relatively calm, although I did notice the male was a little rough on his females when trying to spawn. When I populated the tank with more fish, this seemed to help a bit.
Seems the key to gaining full coloration with most fish is to add fish that dont pose a threat to the ones that you want to color completely. To clarify, I added some yellow labidochromis to the tank with the sp. 44's. Generally the yellows are more mild in temperment, so they allowed the vics to still be the "kings" of the tank, yet they provided a larger fish population so that the male '44 had more activity to focus on rather than just chasing his females. Conversly, if I had added some pseudos to the tank, the Vics most likely would have become less dominant and withdrawn. Proper tank mates is a huge issue that is overlooked by many hobbyists. As always, this isnt law, it's just what I have found through experience that has worked well for me. Hope that helps