Territorial goldfish - any suggestions??

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Muller_lite

Registered Member
Apr 13, 2008
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I'm not sure if this is really a problem or just a natural behaviour...

We have a calico fantail and a black moor in a 30 litre biorb tank, both are about 2 inches long. When we got the tank we were told we had to put the fish in one at a time, 28 days apart. We put the calico in first, and ever since the black moor was introduced (about 3 months ago), it has become really territorial, chasing it around the tank and nipping, especially at feeding time.

I thought this behaviour would settle down once they got accustomed to each other's company again (they were kept together in another tank prior to the biorb and came from the same tank in the pet shop), but it's still happening 3 months. The black moor has even been injured and had to be treated for fungus on a wound due to this.

Is this just a natural thing they'll always do or is there anything we can do to try and stop it??
 
The main issue is probably size of tank. A single fancy goldfish, like your moor, needs a 30 gallon tank, with +10 gallons for each new fancy. Commons, I believe, should not be kept in anything less than a 55g, and I'm guessing each extra common would need 20-30 gallons per fish. Fancy goldfish max out at 6-8" long, but are very wide. Commons get about a foot long. All goldfish are extremely messy.

A 30 liter (8 gallon) tank isn't enough room for half of a full grown moor. Common goldies and koi should never be kept with fancies, because of a number of factors. One, fancies enjoy cool tropical temperatures and commons are strictly coldwater. Two, I've seen in person koi and commons tear at fancies. Now, I'm not sure if this is common, but it sounds like what's happening in your tank.

How do you solve this problem? The easy thing to do would be to bring the common back and keep the moor in the 8 gallon. The smart thing to do would be to bring back the common and get a larger, 30 gallon+ tank for the common.
 
^ that really didn't quite make sense.
Calico fantails and moors are both fancy goldfish.
72F (22C) is very comfortable for both types. Commons can just withstand colder temps.

He is right though about the size of the tank. 30L is just not enough room for them. Look at getting a 150L tank or larger for the two of them.

Take a look at this thread: Sexing Goldfish

Males will often chase females around constantly once they start to reach sexual maturity. If they don't have enough room to move they can easily get injured on decorations.
 
Agreed with the others. You need at least a 30 gal tank for ONE of them. I'd get a 40 breeder for the two.
 
THE V said:
^ that really didn't quite make sense.
Calico fantails and moors are both fancy goldfish.
.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing here that Dwarf Puffer saw 'calico fantail' but thought 'shubunkin', the calico-colored common. My $.02
 
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