Cichlids will eat any new female fish put in the tank

[Kiluminati]

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone has come across this before. I have 2 Jalo's, 2 electric yellows and 2 blood red parrot fish that I bought all at the same time. One male and one female. I tried to add a breeding pair of ice blue zebra's and the female was 2-3 times the size of the largest fish in the tank and they all ate her and I havent found any remains I looked all around my tank to see if she jumped out and nothing. I have no idea how this happened, Also anytime since when I've tried to add a male and female pairing of a compatible fish the female always gets eaten. Any ideas? Thanks everyone.

[jvision]

Add the new fish right before you turn the lights out and rearrange all of the tank decor. That way in the morning, all of the fish are in a 'new' tank.

[Vallisneria]

Also, mbuna aren't pairing fish, you need to add multiple females for each male to help spread the aggression around.

Did you remove all the rocks when you looked for the body? You'd be surprised how well a dead body can hide in a tank, even if you removed a few of the decorations.

[Urban_Cowboy]

also if you use some of the store bought castles or similiar pieces some have holes in them big enough for fish to swim into and then they get stuck in there i found that one out after taking it out and finding 2 dead fish in it... now i make sure i cover any holes big enough for them to get into

[Kiluminati]

Thanks for all your replies, Yeah I took all the decorations out and looked inside them and absolutely nothing inside its completely bizarre. I'll need a bigger thank before I'll be able to add a bunch of females into the mix. Thanks for your comments everyone!