help with mono aggresion

  • Get the NEW AquariaCentral iOS app --> http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1227181058 // Android version will be out soon!

Vinhdeezel

Registered Member
Feb 17, 2005
2
0
0
my inch mono sebae is chasing and nipping at my 1.5 inch mono arg. in my 10 g tank .. i have plants in there for hiding and stuff but still not working when it come to feeding time ussually that happens .. then on and off.. i dont get it.. anyone able to help please reply..

Vinh
 

cdawson

AC Members
Jan 6, 2003
1,231
1
0
44
Vancouver BC
Visit site
EEK! A 10 gallon is WAY too small for monos, they need at least 100 gallons and marine salt in their water. Take them back or they'll probably die.
Or at least try and get them a much bigger tank. Monos also are schooling fish and need to be in groups of at least 5 or more. My group of 5 in my 135g are even out growing that tank. 2 in a 10 gallon must be REALLY cramped. They're very energetic fish that need alot of swimming room too.
 

Silver Surfer

Superhero
Jan 24, 2005
65
0
0
47
Chicago
I'd say 100 gallons might be a little excessive but a tank no smaller than 30 gallons for juveniles up to 3 inches. Large adults could be housed in a 75 gallon tank as long as its only a few.

CDawson is correct a ten gallon is just way too small for most brackish fish. About the only fish i would keep in a 10 gallon would be bumblebee gobies, dwarf puffers and maybe a knight goby.
 

RTR

AC Members
Oct 5, 1998
5,806
0
0
Braddock Heights, MD
Agree w/cdawson. Monos are very large fish, very active, and like Tiger Barbs, need to school w/numbers of their own species. That requires large to very large BW to SW tanks. I would not even QT a Mono in less that 3-4' tank.
 

cdawson

AC Members
Jan 6, 2003
1,231
1
0
44
Vancouver BC
Visit site
Silver Surfer said:
I'd say 100 gallons might be a little excessive but a tank no smaller than 30 gallons for juveniles up to 3 inches. Large adults could be housed in a 75 gallon tank as long as its only a few.

CDawson is correct a ten gallon is just way too small for most brackish fish. About the only fish i would keep in a 10 gallon would be bumblebee gobies, dwarf puffers and maybe a knight goby.
Silver, you obviously have never kept them before. Even a 6' tank is too small for a school of monos. Trust me I've kept 5 in a 6' tank for 2 years and I'm starting to look for a larger home for them. They're too skittish of a fish for a tank that's not on the very large side.

Secondly dwarf puffers are strictly FW and would die in BW.

Third, it's a bad idea to keep fish in tanks that have inadequate space for one simple reason. Stunting of growth, you should read this article.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/GrwLmtChems.htm
 

Silver Surfer

Superhero
Jan 24, 2005
65
0
0
47
Chicago
cdawson said:
Silver, you obviously have never kept them before. Even a 6' tank is too small for a school of monos. Trust me I've kept 5 in a 6' tank for 2 years and I'm starting to look for a larger home for them. They're too skittish of a fish for a tank that's not on the very large side.

Secondly dwarf puffers are strictly FW and would die in BW.

Third, it's a bad idea to keep fish in tanks that have inadequate space for one simple reason. Stunting of growth, you should read this article.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/GrwLmtChems.htm

What do you define as a school because I don't think his 2 constitute a school..... ? 2-3 monos in a 75 gallon is small to you? I guess it depends on what else is in there with them.

Not everyone keeps fish to grow them as big as they can possibly get..... I have a 4 inch mono in a 36 gallon and he's getting bigger so he's going to a friend with a 80 gallon tank.... He's beautiful, nicer than any I've seen in a LFS or even the Shedd Aquarium here in Chicago.... His colors are bright yellow....all others I've seen are drab in color but I guess that diet can have a lot to do with this.

If we wanted fish to get as big as they possibly could we would never have taken them from the wild....

and what is with the schooling fish thing.... Just because they are schooling fish doesn't mean they won't do just fine alone as long as kept in a proper tank.... How many people out there keep schooling fish in groups of 5 or more? Not many...only serious fish freeks like yourself with a big tank. My mono has done quite well on his own except for a 10 day straight fight with a scat that had to be removed.

I've had great experience with my fish thus far and I don't keep them in schooling groups..... I'd like to do a poll of mono owners and see how many people keep 3 or more and in what size tanks.

to each their own I guess........
 
Last edited:

cdawson

AC Members
Jan 6, 2003
1,231
1
0
44
Vancouver BC
Visit site
Silver Surfer said:
What do you define as a school because I don't think his 2 constitute a school..... ?

Not everyone keeps fish to grow them as big as they can possibly get.....

No but we're trying to get him to understand he needs a school for them, not encourage him to keep just two. He needs a school and you can't keep a school in anything less than over a hundred gallons. Fish don't care how big you want them to grow, they just do and you have to plan ahead for it whether you're going to keep them or not.
 

RTR

AC Members
Oct 5, 1998
5,806
0
0
Braddock Heights, MD
If my fish do not meet or exceed wild size, I am doing something wrong. If my fish do not meet or greatly exceed wild lifespan, I am doing something wrong. If I keep a schooling fish, 6-8 specimens is the absolute minimum, and I do know that such a small number is pathetic in relation to the wild, but it does allow at least some semblance of normal behavior.

If I cannot at least try to do it correctly, I'd rather not attemp to keep the fish.

All JMHO, YMMV.
 

TKOS

Registered User of Fish
Feb 6, 2003
5,888
0
60
49
Nova Scotia, Canada
tkos.unsta.com
Why strive for the minimum? That is just asking for defeat. Strive for the best. If the minimum tank size for a certain fish is listed, then you should consider that QT size. A betta will live in a cup, but will thrive in a 5 gallon tank. A school of tiger barbs will suffer ina 5 gallon tank but will fit. It seems obvious that for every tank size available there is a fish that can thrive. If you are limited to a certain size tank then understands your limits and stock accordingly.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store