Fish getting MORE aggressive????

[CareBear3030]

I have 5 tiger barbs, 1 peca catfish, 1 beta, 2 dalmation mollies, 2 clown loaches, 1 dwarf frog, 2 danios, and 1 mean ass rainbow shark
The frog was newly added 2 weeks ago

The catfish and rainbow shark have always been kinda aggressive at times. I did have 4 danios, but now only have 2....I added those 4 about 2 months ago and 2 dissappeared about a month ago when we were gone all weekend. I assume it had to be the catfish as all of my fish are fairly small.

But the past week...maybe even just few days....my shark has gone nuts! He always did bully everyone in the tank (except for the beta and the catfish)...but now he is practically constantly chasing someone. And my catfish...who always hid and we never would see...has been out alot and I have even seen him go after the danios that are left and the mollies...and the mollies are actully a descent size. My catfish is only about 4" long and the mollies are about 2"....I'd say pretty much full grown. (They are the oldest fish in the tank.)

Is there something, other than their getting bigger and bolder that could be causing these already aggressive fish to become more aggressive?? FYI - my beta, who is supposed to be aggressive, is a baby and never bothers anyone.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[LAGlocker]

What size tank do you have these in? That may be part of it, if they feel crowded in together.

 

[CareBear3030]

It is a 55 gal...they have all lived together for about 6 months with no problem. The only new addition is the frog...and they have not picked on him at all....as of now anyway.

 

[Menagerie]

catfish and rainbow shark have always been kinda aggressive at times.

I have never owned these, but here are my thoughts, FWIW. Catfish will eat what fits in their mouth. Also with the passage of time comes sexually maturity, which can bring out an aggressive temperament (as juvies, you just don't see it).
Hopefully, someone with first hand experience will chime in

FYI - my beta, who is supposed to be aggressive, is a baby and never bothers anyone.

That's a misconception. There are aggressive towards their own kind (usually)--they do well in a community tank as long as they are healthy. Actually, my male did poorly in the comm tank--constantly nipped! I had a female in there once and she was just fine .

 

[TankGirl]

I have heard of this happening with the rainbow sharks, and sometimes they just don't do well in a community setting - depends upon the individual.

Do you have a pictus cat? If so, those are generally peaceful in a community tank - that doesn't help you a bit! :?

I don't know how your tiger barbs are fitting into this, but I like to see a few more individuals in a school of those, in case their bickering is causing stress among the other fish.

 

[spence0416]

Rainbow sharks or red tailed black sharks are extremely territorial towards barbs and others of their own kind. You either will have to get used to it or get rid of one or the other. The other solution would be to put 10 or more of them in to distribute the aggression. It won't stop the aggression and you will most likely still be dealing with some fish loss.

They are great looking fish and very active just not always meant for a community. I have had great luck keeping them with larger more aggessive cichlids.