Harleyquin Rasboras Nipping, Need help!!

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Angelica

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Apr 19, 2017
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I have 6 harleyquin rasboras in my ten gallon tank. There used to be 7, but one died of natural causes (I'm assuming, he didn't seem to swim right) and ever since the one died, there has been a ton of fish nipping between them. They are the only ones occupying the tank, and its planted with plenty of hiding spots. Does anyone know why they are behaving this way?
 

tanker

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Sep 1, 2003
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Jessica
This is normal for them. Upping the numbers to about 10 may fix the issue. Rasboras swim in large schools, and will occasionally nip each other, but with more Rasboras there will be more targets.
 

fishorama

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Rasboras don't have teeth in front of their mouths like tetras do. Are they actually doing damage to each other? I haven't ever seen that (notched or split fins) in the many times I've kept them. 1 of the reasons I love them.

Like tanker said, it's a normal behavior for most schooling fish. The males may try to drive females toward a "good breeding area" but that's usual. A few more might help but in a 10g, it's pushing it for stocking.

Haha, Frank!
 
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ustabefast

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How long have they been in the tank? They should quickly establish a pecking order and all should be well, unless you have water quality issues.
I've never seen these fish harm each other, just normal dominance displays.
 
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