Big Bully Shubunkin hurting his Tankmates

[Shubunkin_a_holic]

I'm not sure if I'm posting this thread in the correct place, please let me know if I am not but I REALLY need help.

I maintain a 29 gallon fresh water tank (Got it as an early christmas present back in November) in which I house a medium sized comet, a smaller lion head, a medium sized Plecostomus and one large and very belligerent Shubunkin who constantly chases and pecks at the other fish.

I used to have two more fair sized shubunkins that I got around the same time as him but one died (I suspect the bully had something to do with it) and I was forced to remove the other before I lost that one too. In the past the brunt of his abuse has been focused on the fish closer to his own size, during feeding times mostly but recently with the removal of the other big boys he's moved onto picking on the smaller fish in the tank. The Plecostomus receives the majority of the abuse.

I know that some of this behavior is normal and usually can be disregarded but I'm worried as the aggression has increased dramatically in the past two weeks. I'm at a complete loss as to what to do. I enjoy having him, he has beautiful coloration and brings lovely aesthetics to my tank but I don't want to lose all my other fish. I have been assured that the amount of fish in the tank is ok, that other than their war wounds they are in good health, not over or under fed. Do I really need to move him to his own tank or is there something I can do to stop the bullying little tyrant??

Thank you for reading this!

Shubunkin-a-holic

 

[jlk]

Hi & welcome to AA!!! I am not sure where you are getting reassurance that these fish are appropiate for a 29gal tank. The only fish that is suited to this size tank is the lionhead. The comet & the shubunkin both can grow to 18inches and are only realistically suited to a pond environment or a tank that offers 50gal per fish. I am guessing you have a common pleco which can grow to be 24inches or larger & needs a huge tank for himself. The agression you are witnessing is due to the confined tank size. Upgrading your tank size or rehoming the pond fish & pleco would alleviate the aggression issues. Do you have an API test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? If you dont, please invest in one as soon as possible! Water quality issues may be further aggravating the situation as you are heavily overstocked. Please do not hesitate to ask questions!

 

[Talvari]

Hi & welcome to AA!!! I am not sure where you are getting reassurance that these fish are appropiate for a 29gal tank. The only fish that is suited to this size tank is the lionhead. The comet & the shubunkin both can grow to 18inches and are only realistically suited to a pond environment or a tank that offers 50gal per fish. I am guessing you have a common pleco which can grow to be 24inches or larger & needs a huge tank for himself. The agression you are witnessing is due to the confined tank size. Upgrading your tank size or rehoming the pond fish & pleco would alleviate the aggression issues. Do you have an API test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? If you dont, please invest in one as soon as possible! Water quality issues may be further aggravating the situation as you are heavily overstocked. Please do not hesitate to ask questions!

+1 to this...

Fancy Goldfish, which is to say, lionheads, moors, orandas, ryukins, etc... Need about 20 gallons for the 1st fish. 30 gallons for 2, 40 for 3, etc.

Comets, shubunkins, and koi are really more suited for ponds as they get too large for the typical hobbyist to care for in the home aquarium.