severum?

[seahorse]

I had 2 severums in my tank before. One was being very aggessive so I went and bought another one slightly larger. Well that didn't stop that one from being a bully. I seperated him about 2-3 months ago. If I put him back in the tank will he be the bully again. Does anybody have advice?

[Catlid]

Ive tryed this "time out" solution one time with an aggressive fish. Didnt work....

[NickH]

To lesson the aggression, add different species. Adding another fish of the same species usually makes things worse. How large is the tank?

[peifc]

First of all...what do you mean aggressive?

All my severums chase each other. My Rotkiel will try to bite my gold severums. I don't consider that as aggressive but territorial. Even during breeding time, my green severums just chase of other fish, I've never seen them injured one another to the point of dying.

If you want to lessen the aggression, try to redeco the tank every time you clean it. The reason? It is to make them re-establish territory.

[SayersWeb]

Throw in 6 or 8 Tiger Barbs. They catch the attention of the cichlids often enough to help curb the aggression.

Also, the re-decorating idea works great. It seems to help to take everything (plants, large rocks, etc) out of the tank for a number of hours before putting them back in. Just keep an eye on them to ensure the aggression does not continue during this time.

[seahorse]

I said Aggressive because both the other fish were only allowed on the bottom of the tank. They didn't even get a chance to eat. They get along just fine. I think I'll probably keep them seperate. Thanks for the info.

[seahorse]

Also, they are only in a 20g right now.

[peifc]

How big are your severums?

The tank is too small for them...even for a full grown severum.

My sp. Rotkiel used to do the same to his mate...would not allow her to eat. I had to seperate them for 2 months. Now I put them back together. They have formed a bond.

IMO, leave the weak one in the main tank. Removed the strong one. After a month or so, put the strong one back to the main tank. To the strong one, he/she would feel like he/she had arrived to a new tank/environment.

Also, the tank being too small...made the fish fighting for territories.

[GT3050]

Sorry to bring bad news, but a 20 gal is way too small for 1 severum, not to mention 3. I would either buy a bigger tank right away or take all three severums back to the pet store and trade them in for some fish that can be kept in a 20 gallon.