Mollies and Platys being nippy !!

[kaz_quiksilver]

hey

at the weekend i went out and brought 5 golden white clouds minnows ..thinkin they wud be fine in my normally peaceful community aquarium ..only to see that wen i realised them the mollies and platys were chasing and nipping at them !

i caught them again and they are now in a small breeding tank as ive no where else to put them and not sure wat to do !!

anyone got any suggestions ??? thanks

 

[sieski]

hey

at the weekend i went out and brought 5 golden white clouds minnows ..thinkin they wud be fine in my normally peaceful community aquarium ..only to see that wen i realised them the mollies and platys were chasing and nipping at them !

i caught them again and they are now in a small breeding tank as ive no where else to put them and not sure wat to do !!

anyone got any suggestions ??? thanks

anger managment? lol Seriously I have white mollies that more suck on the sides of my dwarf gouramis. Sure its not that? Also is there any injuries to the minnows?

 

[kaz_quiksilver]

i think they need it tbh ! but its the platys also ....im not sure one has the very tips of its tail fin missing ...but im not sure if it was like this in the first place , but im scared to let them out now haha

 

[kaz_quiksilver]

can no one help ??? i feel reali mean keeping the minnows in a little breeding tank thing , but am worried they will get attacked ! will the other fish get used to them if they are left in there ?? then wen they are let out they will leave them be ?

 

[EscVelocity]

Maybe distract the other fish with food when you introduce them.

 

[SHARPiE]

How big is your tank?
Try re-arranging all the ornaments, rocks or whatever you have in there. This can reset territories and they should be more interested in finding new spots and guarding them than attacking the minnows.

 

[tlkng1]

The other thing to do is sort of a reverse introduction.

First, capture the mollies and platies and put them in a proverbial time-out area.

As Sharpy said, re-arrange your tank decorations a bit to shake up the territories and modify the "look" to the mollies and platies..shake up their world..so to speak. When they swim out again in the main area, it is like they are in a tank they have never been in before.

Re-introduce your white clouds first to give them a chance to create their own pecking order. Once they have established themselves for a couple of hours, reintroduce the mollies and platies. Adding some food at the time the mollies and platies are re-introduced may also help distract them from the newcomers.

I have a couple of swordtails in my tank that are veritable bullies to newcomers..will chase them all over the tank. One is a male, one is a female, neither of which are the same species I just place them in a 5-gallon bucket for an hour or so while the newcomers adjust, re-arrange a couple of plants or some of the lava rock, and then toss the bullies back into the main display (I have a drip acclimation line going into the bucket the entire time so the temp and parameters don't change for the two "captives").

They are so busy re-orienting themselves in the "changed" aquascape that they forget about the new fish. Of course, the fresh, live brine shrimp I add also tends to ease tempers a bit

 

[kaz_quiksilver]

thanks for the help guys !! but i just let them out yesterday ...and all was ok ! really pleased

 

[SHARPiE]

Good 2 hear!!!