gimmethatfish
Aquarium Advice Activist
Hi all -
I have a newly set up angelfish tank. I've had the fish about 3 weeks - tank was long established and fully cycled before I got the angels. I upgraded and moved all the fish from the existing tank into a new one and the angels got the old one.
It's a 55 gallon tank with 6 angels and 6 kuhli loaches. The angels haven't seemed to be overly aggressive with each other. Just the expected random chasing. There haven't been any injuries until now. Tonight I noticed that the smallest one has some nips out of his/her caudal fin. It's pretty dramatic. There's no sign of bloody edges or any rot, but it is most definitely more than just one nip. I *think* it is one particular bully that is doing this, but I have never seen the actual nipping.
So - should I move the one being injured to give him time to heal and grow larger, or should I move the one I suspect is the bully? I have a "time out" tank that I can temporarily put one in. I will take that time to rearrange the decor and take some larger plants from my 120 gallon to give more hiding places. My only problem with moving the bully is that I'm not 100% positive he is the one (or the only one) causing problems. None of the other fish have any nips that I can see.
My other question - think some dither fish would help?
I do have two 20 gallon talls in storage that I have as backups or for any pairing, etc. But I obviously would rather not have to set up a whole new tank at this moment if I don't have to.
I have a newly set up angelfish tank. I've had the fish about 3 weeks - tank was long established and fully cycled before I got the angels. I upgraded and moved all the fish from the existing tank into a new one and the angels got the old one.
It's a 55 gallon tank with 6 angels and 6 kuhli loaches. The angels haven't seemed to be overly aggressive with each other. Just the expected random chasing. There haven't been any injuries until now. Tonight I noticed that the smallest one has some nips out of his/her caudal fin. It's pretty dramatic. There's no sign of bloody edges or any rot, but it is most definitely more than just one nip. I *think* it is one particular bully that is doing this, but I have never seen the actual nipping.
So - should I move the one being injured to give him time to heal and grow larger, or should I move the one I suspect is the bully? I have a "time out" tank that I can temporarily put one in. I will take that time to rearrange the decor and take some larger plants from my 120 gallon to give more hiding places. My only problem with moving the bully is that I'm not 100% positive he is the one (or the only one) causing problems. None of the other fish have any nips that I can see.
My other question - think some dither fish would help?
I do have two 20 gallon talls in storage that I have as backups or for any pairing, etc. But I obviously would rather not have to set up a whole new tank at this moment if I don't have to.
