New Tank - Aggressive fish

O

ozgood

AC Members
Jul 11, 2007
109
0
0
Northern Virginia
Hello all. I have a question or two about my new tank. First, the particulars:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm (whoohooooo! Very excited about this.)

Tank has been running for about three weeks now. Had fish in it for the past seven days.
20 gal tall. CaribSea Tahitian Moon sand, AquaClear 30, Wisteria and Anubias plant (doing very well so far). The tank is in our morning room so it get's some direct light.

Stocking:
Four Zebra Danios
Two Cherry Barbs
Two Fancy Guppies (both male)

Prior experience: 75 gallow Mbuna African Cichlid.

I started this new tank as a nice tropical community tank. What's happening is that one of the Guppie has been killing off the other fish. From the second we put the Guppies in, they had been sparing back and forth. Face to face, mouths open. Today, the one Guppy is mostly finless. We also had a mystery death of a very healthy looking Danios. I thought it was some type of new tank issue but now am thinking he was picked on.

I really thought that these three fish were about as easy going as they come. Meaning, not aggressive. Any recommendations as to what fish to try next? Are the types good but not enough quantity?

My plan all along is to get two dwarf Gourami and some Anacharis or Water Sprite to float in the tank. No C02, just Flourish Excel, natural Nitrate in water, and lights, and a freshwater shrimp. Should I continue on this path?

As for hiding places, I have the one anubias plant ( about 6" tall, five broad leaves ) and one Wisteria plant ( really about five stalks, about 6.5" tall ). The rest of the tank is mostly open.

Thanks in advance.
 
IME, guppies (most livebearers actually) do best in a situation where there are multiple females to each male. Too few females and the females get stressed from the constant attention from the males. If yer keepin' males only, a group is better than a pair, since they will spar for dominance, as you've seen, and havin' several males spreads that out so that one individual isn't gettin' beat to death. Over the years, I've had mixed success with males-only in a tank (leanin' toward the poor success side) and stick to maintainin' them in groups with multiple females to each male.

One danio death a week into havin' em could just as easily be from the fish not bein' totally healthy when you purchased it, as from aggression. Danios are constantly movin' and are always chasin' each other, but I've never seen any serious damage from they're behavior. When in smaller groups, zebra danios do have a tendency to include long-finned fish in their activities, which can be stressful to the other fish. This may have contributed to the demise of your guppy, as well. Increase the number of danios ya have so that they focus on each other and ignore their tankmates.

WYite
 
I would recommend against adding two dwarf gouramis to a tank this size. Most you find in the stores are males and they have a tendency to be a bit territorial.

As mentioned above, the danios aren't really aggressive by nature but like all schooling fish there is an established pecking order. That is the reason why it is said to keep them in larger groups (at least 5-6) so that no single, submissive fish gets picked on, including those of other species. I've never had an issue with zebra danios in a community setting if kept in a decent-sized group as they tend to stick to themselves.
 
Guppies are social order fish and need to be kept in large groups of more females than males. 8-10 is a good start. Zebra danios are also social order fish - same rules. The smallest group that guppies or zebras do well in is a trio 2F/1M. Even then you are risking the females. It is better to do 4F/1M.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll stay clear of the Gourami's. They are really the main purpose, showcase fish, I had wanted and why I wanted to start a tank again. There's plenty of other fish that I can look at. I thought that my wife liked the Danios, she thought I liked them, so, probably won't continue with them as neither of us really like them. It's very easy for me to take them back. After the Guppy situation I think that we are both over them. So, I'll be down to two Cheery Barbs, Whisteria (which is really taking off) and an Anubias.

What should I look at next? 20 gallon Tall with two Cherry Barbs. Is it OK to get a Ghost Shrimp? I like the Harlequin Raspora but they are very similar to the Cherry Barbs. Perhaps some sort of Tetra. I'll need to do some more research on the types and stocking suggestions (numbers, etc...).

Again, thanks for the help.
 
Got'cha. I misunderstood. So, one Gourami can work but two are going to cause issues. I would like to get some more Cherry Barbs.
 
Yep, since you would likely be purchasing males, the gouramis can be territorial to each other when confined to smaller spaces. But a single one can do well, provided you are able to find decent stock. Dwarfs haven't exactly got a reputation for being the healthiest fish from your typical LFS.
 
Update after a few days of "fish reconfiguration". I currently have four Cherry Barbs (1 male, 3 females), one Dwarf Gourami, three Platty (1 male, two female), one ghost shrimp. For the most part, everyone is happy. The Platty's definitely seem happy. They just swim around. The Cherry Barb male will swim after the "ladies" but I suppose that's to be expected. The male Gourami is a fun fish to watch. He'll hide in the plants (Whisteria), under an Anubias leaf, or come out for a swim, chase the Cherry Barb a little, get a gulp of air. Overall, the it's much more pleasant to watch the tank now. Thanks for everyone's help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom