Too Much Aggression In Long Established Ca Tank

[marge618]

I just added convicts to my CA tank and now I wish I hadn't. Wouldn't want to wake up tomorrow and find out they weren't dither fish.. they were lunch..

The jack dempsey, jaguar, red devil :FIREdevil: , and fire mouth have been housed in this tank together since I bought the tank...over 3 years ago. Originally my first pair of convicts also came with the tank (along with 20 fry). At the time I was so taken with the convicts that I 'saved' them and gave them a 29 gallon tank of their own. Recently the red devil :FIREdevil: has become much more aggressive. There are scars and scrapes on the jd, and the other fish all seem jumpy. At feeding time the red devil charges the other fish. I thought that adding the convicts back into the tank might provide more targets and calm everything down.

Has anyone else had this problem. Do dither fish really help. Why, after all this time would there be such a battle? :smashfreakB:

 

[Tim]

Some fish take longer to mature than others. Sometimes it just takes awhile for aggression to occur, eventhough, depending on tank size, someone probably could have told you three years ago, it was in your future. Dither fish can work. But, they typically work with keeping together mated pairs. West African monogamous species are famous for breeding two or three times, then going through a divorce. Some of the Tanganyikan species do the same thing. A dither fish will keep the pair focused on kicking the crap out of the dither instead of getting into a lover's quarrel with each other.
Adding fish to a tank where there are species not getting the space they need, will sometimes spread the aggresssion. But the aggression is still there, and it's there for a reason.
You may want to look at removing some of the fish or finding different homes for them. What size is your tank?
Tim

 

[marge618]

Some fish take longer to mature than others. Sometimes it just takes awhile for aggression to occur, What size is your tank?
Tim[/b]

Thanks for the input. The tank is 75 gallons. There is alot of coral rock providing many large and small hiding places.

 

[SubMariner]

There could be several reasons why the aggression is happening now.

One could be that they have out grown their tank and the territories are now limited in size.
Two, It is possible that when a tank is acidic or the ph is off, tempers tend to fly and they begin to act irregular.
Three, there is a possibility that your red devil is in the mood to mate and is letting everyone know that he is the boss and where are the females? Are there any females in the tank by the way? Trust me, any female will do.

Um, You might have to rearrange all the rocks again to establish new territories, that way the fighting will stop for now.
Also, Temperature can be a factor and if slightly too high it can cause aggression.
Another factor is the older the Red Devil gets(matures) his temper will change as the bump on his head grows.
You have to understand, they don't call him a red devil for nothing. It may be best if the Red Devil is separated towards the end if all else does not work.

Finally, It's all relative to their relationship together. You might have to study their behavior patterns a little bit because they too have personalities like us. I'll give you an example, I have a large community tank of African Mbunas who have been together over 2 years now. Every time I travel on business there is always a fish that is missing when I get back. I can't seem to find him so I comb the tank with my hands until I find him buried under a rock hidden from me.
Apparently, they killed him and hid the body under the rocks so I could not find him. It was amazing to me how intelligent these fish were.

Furthermore, It seems as though my tank is like the HBO hit show the Sopranos, because my Cobalt in the tank is called Pauli and I am sure he put the hit out on my PS. Deep. This has happened not once, but 3 times in the past 2 years and if they don't want you around they will get rid of you. Interesting right!

You still have to time to salvage the tank, but remember that even a good community tank can be broken up after time due to fish just out growing each other. Even us humans tend to not be able to live with each other sometimes due to different personalities.

GOOD LUCK,

Submariner :angel2:

 

[marge618]

There could be several reasons why the aggression is happening now.

One could be that they have out grown their tank
:unsure: Hope this isn't the reason as I don't have a larger tank.

Two, tank is acidic or the ph is off,
Maybe more frequent water changes are in order.

Three, your red devil is in the mood to mate (any female will do).
:blush: I thought the red devil was a female (no hump)

rearrange all the rocks again to establish new territories,
Will try this one!!!

Temperature can be a factor
AHHHHH! Now the AC temp in the house is turned down. Hope this helps.

The older the Red Devil gets (matures) his temper will change as the bump on his head grows.
No bump on the Red Devil's head. At 5 years plus in age.

Finally, study their behavior patterns a little bit because they too have personalities like us.
So now I spend a little more time each day watching to see how the fish in this CA tank spend their time.

You still have to time to salvage the tank, but remember that fish just out grow each other, (like humans) due to different personalities.

THANKS FOR THE DETAILED RESPONSE SUBMARINER ! IT HELPS TO HAVE A PLAN OF ACTION!

Marge

 

[SubMariner]

Your Welcome!

I hope you solve the case I too hate it when my community tank begins to act up and then I have to break up the whole tank and separate everyone.

Anyways, take a couple fish pellets and call me in the morning. LOL


See ya,


Submariner