New to this site but need help

[LoneFish]

Hello i am new to this sight but really need help with 2 issues. i am not sure if this thread should go here.
I have 1 Dwarf Gourami 4 Zebra Danios 3 Long Fin Tetras 1 Rainbow shark and 1 Golden Dojo Loach in my 33 gallon tank (a little over crowded)Last week my Gourami died of ick i rushed in and tried to get rid of it by doing a very big water change so far none of my other fish have gotten ick so i want to know if my ick problems are solved.

My other problem is that my rainbow shark is a very aggresive specimen he continually chases and nips at my golden dojo. It has gotten to the point were if my dojo comes down from the top corner of the tank the rainbow comes and chases him back to the top. I am sure it is not healthy for the dojo to be swiming constintaly at the top of the tank if there is any kind of solution that does not involve getting rid of either fish or buying a new tank please tell.
Thank You

 

[gkuzel]

Well, first of all, Welcome to AA! I'd say for your rainbow 'problem child' I would add many more hiding places, So they each can have a spot to claim as 'theirs'. But if this does not work, I'd seriously consider re-homing your shark, because it will eventually not let the dojo eat, resulting in death (obviously). But adding, caves, and driftwood may help curve the problem.

 

[LoneFish]

Cave

Thanks for the welcome and advice i have one cave in the aquarium that imade myself out of an old aquarium decoration that the dojo used to love to hide in but once i put the shark in he chased him right out i will try addin another cave... hope it works

 

[rich311k]

That is normal behavior, the bottom of the tank is his turf, he will fight any fish that looks similar to him to keep his turf. It is only going to get worse.

 

[gkuzel]

Unfortunately, Rich is right. Like I said, it might curb the aggression if they see less of each other, but the rainbow may still pursue the dojo.

 

[LoneFish]

Well...

I am glad you all helped me out so quickly i will try adding another cave for the dojo to hide if this fails i have a large betta bowl 3gal i heard dojos are really good in gold fish bowls would it be ok in there with the bettas if the cave fails

 

[barterking85]

I had 1 redtail shark with the same attitude and he was my favorite fish so I tried adding him to my aggressive cichlid tank and he still took over the tank he made all my cichlids hide in one skull yes one skull so I had to rehome him too bad they are amazing fish good luck I hope you can keep him and WELCOME TO AA

 

[barterking85]

I really don't think anything does well in a bowl that's just me tho most of is here keep our bettas in 5 or even 10 gallon filtered tanks

 

[LoneFish]

I heard bowls were not good for bettas

I heard bowls were not good for bettas but all bettas i have kept in bowls have done fine the old one i used to have lived 2.5 years long time in my view.

 

[LoneFish]

Hey

Also is htere any kind of clean up crew fish/inverts that icould keep in my tank. After dojo problem is solved

 

[alLexX]

the shark would probably calm down if he had a 55 gallon or bigger tank.thats the most commonly excepted minimum.

 

[barterking85]

Some shrimp would make a nice clean up crew or a farlowella they don't get massive

 

[barterking85]

And if a Betta is in a heated filtered they can live anywhere from 5-7 years

 

[LoneFish]

Thanks

I tried adding another hiding place this mornin a tall piece of fake drift wood which i broke off and smoothed an edge off so there is a small hole in the decoration. that leads into a big hollow space the piece actually seems to be helping the shark cant fit into the hole but the dojo can so now when the dojo gets chased it just goes into the hole. When i fed the fish the dojo and shark seemed to have gotten plenty of food i am still keeping a close eye on the fish but i think my problem is solved

 

[gkuzel]

The dojo will die in a bowl. No contest. And for a clean up crew, any kind of cory cat (a shoal of them), or you can try a small pleco. I wouldn't trust your rainbow with any invert, to be honest.

 

[jcolon]

The broken driftwood is good fix for now. How large is the Rainbow Shark? They get up to 6 inches ... same as Red-tail Shark and are just as territorial .. IMO. Unfortunately, the aggression will only get worst given the size of the tank. A 55 gallon with plenty of caves, decorations, DW and plants (real or fake) help to provide territories for it to claim, which can help curb territorial aggression. In a 33 gallon, the rainbow see's the whole tank as it's territory.

My RTS is the terror of the tank during feeding ... and he's vastly outnumbered He's top dog and knows it ... thankfully it's only during feeding and then only with the original 12 TigerBarbs tank-mates he started the tank with.

 

[LoneFish]

To any one who is still reading i had to take the shark back i came down and checked on my tank yesterday and found my shark attacking not only the dojo but the other aquarium inhabitants i saw one of my zebras get nipped badly( lost part of tail fin) still seems to be eating and swimming fine, and i decided that was the last straw when i took the fish back to the store they said i could choose another fish of equal value i chose a gold gourami. The gourami is fine with the other fish i plan to get a rubber lipped or bristle nose pleco next weak( I am having slight algea problems)i guess i just did not have a suitible tank for the shark

 

[alLexX]

that sucks,they can be pretty mean(sharks)

 

[LoneFish]

i read about how they could be mean to fish with simillar body shapes i just thought the dojo looked more snake like than minnow like, and i bet that a 55 gal would work better for a shark than my 33

 

[alLexX]

yea, probably would.ive got a rainbow in my 20(soon to mbe upgraded) and hes pretty mean.luckily,the other fish(except for 2 he doesnt bother)are bigger and tougher than him.