Rainbow and yellow lab mistake?

M

mozart

AC Members
Mar 29, 2007
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Delawhere?
This fall, after losing my angel and the consistant destruction of my cories (I'd buy 5 and 1 a day would disappear-I assume a midnight snack for my mature yo-yo), I bought rainbows and kept losing all but 2, so I gave up on a school. I then bought 3 labs which have done well. Eventually the female rainbow died and I starting feeling bad for the male. Also, 1 of the labs always seemed to be alone. So last night I bought 3 female rainbows and what I thought was a female lab. Well, I have never experienced this with tank additions before:
The male rainbow was like a raging maniac to all of the females. His mating technique seemed extremely aggressive. The cichlids all started attacking the new one, which was a good bit smaller than I realized. So all day today everyone is in hiding except the male rainbow, platies, and lone cory. Last night the tank looked like an overcrowded battle scene. Today the tank looks more bare than before the additions.
Any chance that everyone will relax?
These breeds are supposed to be schooling fish, but there ain't no schoolin' goin' on!
 
bosemani
 
Oh well. The smallest rainbow is a goner. Remaining rainbows looking a bit more relaxed. Labs still hiding--haven't seen the newest lately.
Sounds like not too much experience in this area, so I'm soon to be the expert.
 
Clearly an odd mix. Bosmanis are pretty mild tempered, and I've never kept labs. I'm interested to hear what happens, but don't think I could predict.
 
The single yoyo is a problem, w/out others of their own species to interact with they do become homicidal to other fish. I had a single redtail botia for months, then my praecox rainbows started turning up dead. I never would have figured it out, but I found one of their corpses dragged back to his cave. After I took it back to the lfs the other fish stopped dying every couple days. A 38 really isn't big enough for a group of yoyo's anyway, they should have at least a 4' tank IMO.
 
I don't know but in case this is helpful, we were left with a "stray" yellow lab who has lived just fine for over a year in a tank with Rainboy Cichlids, Tiger Barbs, Cherry Barbs, Cories... ETC.
 
Well another female rainbow is dead and the one remaining is quivering in hiding. The male seems to have taken over the tank and happier alone rather than with a harem. The labs are starting to come out a bit, but everyone is a bit edgy. I discovered one lab has a mouthful of babies! And I thought she had new funky disease! Anyway, I was on a cichlid site which recommends rainbows as dither fish for the labs. Seemed to be a compatible group until the recent additions. I think that things will be OK soon, and that I will just forget about giving rainbow boy a school.
 
Well, from my meager experience with rams, I'd say the rainbow (which is a cichlid) felt the tank was his, and the new additions caused an upset in territories, which ended in fighting. Perhaps if you rescape next time you add fish?
 
A rainbow is actually not a cichlid and are considered an easy, peaceful fish. Maybe he's been taking lessons fron the cichlids!
 
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