Bully fish problem

E

eylk

AC Members
Aug 5, 2007
265
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hello,

I have a tetra that is a super bully. It chases the 6 platies thrice it size away, my SAE and the 20 + adult neon tetras that i recently added !!!
I tot that the age , size and numbers of neon tetras will b e enough to imidate it or at least hold their own but NOo0o0oOoo! tank is 40 gallon.

Im not so sure if the fish is an X ray tetra. It looks exactly the same as one except that there is a black patch with 2 smaller white patches beside it at its caudal tail instead of red. The patches do not is near the main body, it does not cover the whole caudal fin, the rest of the fin is transparent.

Right now I have quarantined it. I am thinking of giving it to a LFS but then this bully tetra has been around with me for ages! (maybe that's why its so cranky, cos it thinks it is an old timer! and also LFS dont/cant really treat fishes as well as I do , and they will probably just sell it to some fool who doesnt even know what the nitrogen cycle is or over stock it with the rest of their diseased tetras.

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Euthanasia is definitely out of the question.

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Will buying more of the same species help? so they shoal as a school. but then u have to understand .. this fish is no longer
'community'. haha

THANKS !
 
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If the fish is by itself it will act out like this, it needs a shoal so any aggression and nipping can be spread around to the group instead of other fish.

Your tank seems stocked to me, personally, so adding more may be out of the question anyways.
 
too much stock? I think either I have given the gallons wrongly or there must be a problem else where.. the fishes have plenty of space to swim around !! Anyways that is not my no.1 concern now...

I was afraid that even after i get more fishes for it, the problem still exist .. or even worse, the whole bunch of them might gang up to bully the other tetras (although the 2nd scenario seems unlikely), then i will have to give away ALL of them...

any other methods? besides a tank divider... really need some creative ideas here or just some advice from a well experienced vetern

thanks
 
He just needs a few of his own kind for friends. Where they are in groups of 4+, they will focus mainly on themselves and not worry about who else is in the tank.
 
IME, albiet small, most tetras are inherently aggressive. Most don't notice this b/c larger fish can fend for themselves, and most add tetras in groups - Like someone else mentioned, this tends to keep aggression down and/or focus them on each other.

Adding a few more of the same fish is a good suggestion, besides all fish should be added in pairs or more wherever posisble (with a few exceptions).

As for stock, you're close, but you should be okay to a few firends for your lone-tetra.

FYI - Recommended groups for schooling fish are 6+
 
i just remembered.. that tetra used to have 6 or more of its kind but then they would take turns to bully the neon !!! its left with 1 now.. many have passed away because of my ignorance about the nitrogen cycle..

anyways I am planning to get a divider and transferring it to another tank.

thanks
 
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