Frustrated with aggressive fish!!!!

I already have angelfish that don't get along with anybody and I figured hey safe bet adding two dwarf gourami to my community 30 gallon. But today I look in there and I have 5 fish with chunks gone out of their tails. Like FULL mouth bites. He has been fine for about a week now and all of the sudden today went after them. I watched them eat today and KNOW I would have saw them then by how big these chunks are! I'm not happy! So he is now separated from the others and going back to the LFS tomorrow. I'm so tired of getting new fish and them being aggressive. I don't have the tank space to keep anymore fish that don't get along. And I have been limited to the number of gallons I can have. What is with these fish?! Why is it that the ones that are supposed to be okay are turning aggressive on me. Even the other dwarf gourami I bought with it has a shredded top fin. I just don't understand. My friend has 6 gourami's and hers all get along fine with other fish in the tank as well as other the other gourami's. Do I just have bad luck on finding the mean fish??

I have platy's (2 have bites), x-ray tetras (fine), glolight tetras (1 has a bite), a betta (shredded fins), and the 2 gourami's (small tear could be from trying to escape the mean one).

I know what you mean and you are dealing with fish that are considered "peaceful", "community" fish. It frustrating try to find the right mix, and being limited in tank size to boot.

I have been trying to set up a community of large fish with a fairly large tank to work with and have had to deal with the same issues. Ive tried many fish that were supposed to be less aggressive types and found some of them to be the worst. Though one of my "aggressive" fish turned out to be a total puppy dog, go figure.

Hang in there you will find that perfect mix of fish... one day.

Im sorry to hear that. I guess I have been real lucky. Those that have seen my tanks, know what I mean.

I also have a time out method. Before you take the fish back, try this. I had a grammode, (very aggressive) relentlessly trying to pick off fish starting with the smallest. Here is what you do.

1) remove bully and place in its own tank/container/whatever you have.
2) filter it or just add bubbles for air. If you just use an air stone you will have to do water changes(cold water only) every other day.
3)NO HEATER..... Let the temp drop. If you have to, put the container in the coolest part of the house.
4)DO NOT FEED. Starve the fish for 3 to 4 days. Then feed when you want to feed, not when it wants food.
5)Treat with Melefix. Use twice the recommended dose.
6)If able to, give the said fish a place to hide, and add to its tank a definite more aggressive fish. (this part would take place after the bully has been in this tank/container for at least a month) Let new bully fish, do its thing. But keep eye on them and make sure the original bully isnt to stupid to hide.
7)After about 6 weeks in a time out, re-introduce to main tank. The other fish will have established territory, and the bully will now be humbled and will be the odd fish out.

It has worked for me on several occasions. The only reason I mention the grammode, is because they can be a mean fish, and mine was getting there.

Try it. I know it sounds mean and cruel. But I got this method from other fish hobbyist.

Good luck.

Sometimes the fish that are put in time out, end up becoming your most favorite. I know my Grammode was. So far no other male Grammode has compared to him.

Wow. Well it certainly makes sense... But then what about the new bully fish? If it's not by itself afterwards, it seems like a unending cylce...

Tough love, even for fish

Glad you brought that up. I always have to borrow the bully, cause I dont have many. If you dont have a bigger bully, dont use one. I have had success just putting in time out. Right now I have a 6" Carpintis that tore up another Carpintis and a Umbee 2" bigger than it, hanging out with my 17" Dovii. The Carpintis has about 2 more weeks of this, then it will get reintroduced to my community, and we will see if it learned its lesson.

I found that a stern talking to helps. Always seems my fish respond or maybe they see me and think just think "food".

Tank size too seems to have an impact. If ShortyKiloGyrl had a 55g to work with the dynamics would probably be different. Not a whole lot of space in a 30g...

Madness, that makes alot of sense. I tried the bully route as well in a more mild situation I guess lol. I took my biggest angelfish who has been by himself for months because of aggression and put it in the 30 gallon. The dwarf gourami's are staying at opposite sides of the tank. My betta is hiding out a bit, but he has plenty of hiding room. Fake plants, and a log he can go into that the angel for sure can't fit into. The angel does a little chasing, but no nipping and he's slower than the other smaller fish for sure. So he has a hard time catching them. So for today everything is going well. And my butterfly pleco is even following around the angel some and letting it know it's the boss lol.

Pleco's are starting to become my favorite, they are smart and have quite the personality. My blind one in another tank will chase away fish too. Actually swim after the other fish in open waters. And some how has figured out how to get over the divider in the tank to clean on the other side as well. He knows he can suck his way up the solid plastic portion of the divider flips his(guessing) tail harder to move up the plastic some and sucks back on(out of the water) and then another flip of his tail and over the divider he goes. Smarty pants!

Madness, I also put the attacking gourami in a breeder box with the lights on so it could see the others and not be able to get to them over night and then I put the angelfish in first and let it swim around for a while and then released the gourami. So aggressive gourami was the last into the tank.

you could try removing your fish and re arranging your tanks decor so they can establish new territory

hobbyorobsession wrote:you could try removing your fish and re arranging your tanks decor so they can establish new territory

I have heard about this, and have tried it a few times to no success. I dont know if my Cichs are just intelligent. I can remove the fish, re-arrange the decor, and when the fish get back in they immediately retake the same area or the same cave or pot, regardless of where it is moved.

Thats my pot damn it, get out.

madness wrote:I dont know if my Cichs are just intelligent. I can remove the fish, re-arrange the decor, and when the fish get back in they immediately retake the same area or the same cave or pot, regardless of where it is moved.

Thats my pot damn it, get out.

I think cichlids are a lot more intelligent than they are given credit for. Not only do they seem to have a sense of memory when it comes to a piece of decor but also if they had an issue with a fish, it seems like they remember that also. Chiclids apparently can hold grudges.

Speaking about aggression. I took the Nanchatal Zonatums that were in my living room and put them in the 250 Vieja/Paratheraps tank yesterday. Lets just say, "it was interesting". The largest fish in the tank was a dominant Argentea and a dominant Black belt. They both were about 6". The male Zonatus is about 8". The existing fish didnt even give the female Zonatus a look, they all went after the male. He did very well defending himself. No lip locks, just a lot of flaring back and fourth.

Today there is piece and harmony in the 250. It looks like the male Zo is now alpha male. The other 2 have definitely colored up very nicely, since yesterday. I will try and take some pics, I am definitely thinking both are males. So now 2 Argentea to go. Which on is the female.

Oh and a side note. Jags have free swimming fry. Carpintis just laid eggs. Hogas have been away from their little ones and in a new tank for 2 days before they have spawned again. And my Mojarra Zonatus, and Umbee have dropped tubes, so I am sure they are next. Oh and my other Hoga pair has eggs also, but this is his 20th time and all the past never got fertilized.

I am trying to achieve a more peaceful tank. That sounds funny since I want to ditch my dithers and only get cichlids. But the silver dollars just get no respect even from the smallest of the cichlids Ive had in the tank with them. They get chased around, bang into the glass and tops and huddle in the corner in fear until feeding time when they assert themselves.

The pecking order that gets established in a cichlid tank seems to actually be a bit more peaceful in many ways. Everyone knows their place and there is not a constant chasing going on. Ive seen a bit of gill flare and chasing others out of territory but not the chase around the tank stuff that happens with the dithers. But of course we are talking tanks that are bigger size which does make it easier.

My ex's cichlid tank was super agressive. New fish if too small would be found dead within days. If you weren't accepted by the dominant ones they would definitely let you know and constantly. One actually had half of a 75 gallon tank to himself. He was definitely the most aggressive! I have it now and he will try and bite my finger through the glass. He is horrible. He is destined to be in solitary confinement lol. So I guess it just depends on the attitude and aggressiveness of the certain fish you get.

what type of fish is the meany?

Peacock cichlid is all we know. He had gotten it before we started dating so I'm not sure. Just always called it peacock. I have pictures of it if you would like to see them? Gorgeous fish!

I can believe that. Peacocks can be little asses.

There were a couple of other OB peacocks in the tank and they were fine. This one was one of the first though so I guess he felt like he was owed the tank. I do believe it is the one who plucked the eyes out of the pleco I have. Jerk...

LOL. Im going to tell you a secret. My son has an African tank in my house. Dont tell the other S/C Am. Cich keepers or the African keepers.
My son had a beautiful 4" Jacobfabergei sp' Eureka Red, a most beautiful fish. But what an ass. He no longer has him. The time out idea never worked on him.

Yeah I tried even a divider in a tank and putting another fish in it. I believe the peacock harassed it enough it had a seizure and died. Weirdest thing I have ever seen! So rather than him being flushed alive I took it.

madness wrote:LOL. Im going to tell you a secret. My son has an African tank in my house. Dont tell the other S/C Am. Cich keepers or the African keepers. :silent

Your son is inexperienced and does not know better, he just has to get it out of his system