RainbowGeek Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 I have 3 angelfish in a 40 gallon. The pecking order goes largest to smallest. The smallest is bullied lots, and its fins are very jegged due to nipping. The smallest one is usually up in the corner and isn't so much swimming around, so now I'm worried. What would fix this? Getting a new angel to mess up the pecking order? Add some dither fish? (I already have 6 cardinal tetras and 6 zebra danios) Get some more plants to add some cover? Get rid of one (only if I have to, I really, really don't want to) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 (edited) They could be starting to pair off I would watch them to see which ones spending the most time together and remove the other one Edited February 11, 2021 by Colu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 Can you get a separate tank for the bullied fish? Or, can you get a separate tank for the breeding pair if that's what's happening? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowGeek Posted February 11, 2021 Author Share Posted February 11, 2021 20 minutes ago, Colu said: They could be starting to pair off I would watch them to see which ones spending the most time together and remove the other one 19 minutes ago, Kirsten said: Can you get a separate tank for the bullied fish? Or, can you get a separate tank for the breeding pair if that's what's happening? I don't think its a breeding pair because... -They are not showing signs of breeding -Its been happening for a few weeks, no eggs -I beleive one is not sexually mature, still a young boy. I have an empty 10 gallon tank which would be fine for the bullied tank short term but not long term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 You can get plastic tank divider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 16 minutes ago, Rainbow Geek said: I have an empty 10 gallon tank which would be fine for the bullied tank short term but not long term. I think you should do whatever's best for your fish in the long run and either re-home the bullied fish, or get them their own community tank with no other angels, or do that for the bully (assuming it's just one doing the aggression and not both). But a 10g or a divider could do in a pinch to help the bullied fish recover. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 Ok. This is going to sound insane. Feel free to disagree. No hurt feelings here. But . . . this can work . . . sometimes. Call it reverse psychology, but if you isolate the _bully_ and let the harassed fish repair and do well in the tank, sometimes this can be effective. On just a couple of occasions, we've taken aggressive fish and placed them inside a trout fishing net suspended in the aquarium (see photo). They do get a bit stressed . . . we never do it for longer than a day or two. The goal is to dial in the dominance, and give a "time out." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiclid addict Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 2 hours ago, Rainbow Geek said: I don't think its a breeding pair because... -They are not showing signs of breeding -Its been happening for a few weeks, no eggs -I beleive one is not sexually mature, still a young boy. I have an empty 10 gallon tank which would be fine for the bullied tank short term but not long term. Like you said the 10 gallon wouldn’t work long term but this could happen to the angel if it is kept in there too long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 7 hours ago, Kirsten said: I think you should do whatever's best for your fish in the long run and either re-home the bullied fish, or get them their own community tank with no other angels, or do that for the bully (assuming it's just one doing the aggression and not both). But a 10g or a divider could do in a pinch to help the bullied fish recover. Agreed. It might be the last thing Rainbow Geek would like to do, but the poor fish that is getting beat down might be forever grateful to get a new home. On an aside, the photo Angelfishlover posted above is just stunning. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaniB Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 I had this problem with my angelfish. I had two angelfish and a gourami in a 36 gallon. The male angel and gourami bullied my female angel, nipped her fins down and wouldn’t let her out of the corner of the tank. I got tall plants to try and break the line of site, I rearranged the tank, and even tried making a wall with the plants and none of it worked. They never let her out of the corner of the tank and I worried her fin damage would get worse or infected if I left it unattended. I moved her into a community 20 long with a different male gourami. She’s loving her best life in that tank. I did a ton of research on how to help her with the aggression from the other two, and ultimately after trying the other couple ideas, the only thing I could do was move her. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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