Killer fish?

[dralarms]

I as you can see from my signature, a bunch of different types of fish in my 55 gal. in the last 36 hrs I have lost 4 of my 8 female betta's. something is nipping their fins and then in their weakened state they are being killed. Who would be the most likely suspects? My wife says the Bala sharks, I am leaning towards the gornamis. Help me please I don't want to loose anymore Betta's. I have got them in a breeding net for the time being. 1 of the remaining 4 is very stressed.

 

[madasafish]

Process of elimination, really. Take out the Balas and see what happens. Take out the Gouramis and see what happens... I'm thinking that both species have the potential to attack.

Also, consider fin rot as the reason for their fin damage. Do all the fish show this, or just the fish that are injured?

 

[dralarms]

Just the fish that are injured. And where should I put the ones I remove? What about the black skirted tetras? One of them was nipping at one of the Betta's or are they just taking advantage of the situation?

 

[madasafish]

Do you not have any QT small tanks? No prob if you don't, but you might want to get 1-2 2.5-5 gallon tanks for use as nurseries, hospital tanks, QT tanks. I have 2 small tanks I use if fish get sick or aggressive.

If not, use a large container and fill it with tank water. Cover it so the QTed fish don't jump out, and keep it as warm as you can. Rubbermaid containers work, so do large kitchen bowls. The squarer they are, the easier it is to get the fish out after using them! If you can attach a small filter to the QT container, that'll enable you to keep the fish in there for a longer time. For now, keep them separated for long enough to gauge if they're the culprits.

 

[dralarms]

Thanks, I do have 1 QT tank but right now it's in the middle of an ick battle. thanks to all the help here I am winning. and my fish don't seem to mind the higher temps. Haven't lost anymore to ick and they are all now looking better and more active. Hopefully by Tues. I can set it back in motion. I have 2 zebra danios, 3 cory cats, and 2 Harlequin Rasbora's, Can I put the Dwarf Gourami's into that tank once I move the Rasbora's out? I don't think they can catch the Zebra Danios (I can't even catch them ). The Bala's are going back to the Lfs as soon as I can get them there.

 

[ferret]

I actually would not suspect the bala sharks. Gouramis maybe, but I'd actually be suspected the black skirts (Since you've seen it) and the barbs.

Bala sharks are not very aggressive in general (Until they get big, then they might eat small fish ;p). My gouramis have never caused problems either, but barbs are notorious for nipping.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I agree, I think the bala shark would swallow a fish before he would fin nip.

 

[dralarms]

Those little bitty fish? maybe but they seem to stay to themselfs most of the time. They don't look like they would be large enough to do the kind of damage I have seen inflicted on these fish. The lfs told me the "cherry barb" was a mild temperment fish and good for a community tank.

 

[cdawson]

Just the fish that are injured. And where should I put the ones I remove? What about the black skirted tetras? One of them was nipping at one of the Betta's or are they just taking advantage of the situation?

There'll be a hole lot'o nippin going on in that tank. Between the tetras, the barbs and just the nipping between bettas. Also, the bala shark is going to be super aggressive as well. I think you better do a bunch of research. You've gotta remove alot of those fish before armageddon breaks out.

 

[dralarms]

Just the fish that are injured. And where should I put the ones I remove? What about the black skirted tetras? One of them was nipping at one of the Betta's or are they just taking advantage of the situation?

There'll be a hole lot'o nippin going on in that tank. Between the tetras, the barbs and just the nipping between bettas. Also, the bala shark is going to be super aggressive as well. I think you better do a bunch of research. You've gotta remove alot of those fish before armageddon breaks out.

Ok, according to their profiles every fish I have except for the Bala's are Peaceful community type fish. The Bala's come under the heading of semi-agressive (and I wouldn't have bught them if I had known). Never seen any of the beta's nip each other, yet.

 

[Terry]

justmy2cents,

This is just going by customer feedback and what is brought to the store when people have had nipping in there tanks.

No1 ......... Tiger barb, Unless kept in big groups, very nippy.

No2 ......... Serpae Tetra, i get lots of these brought into me because customers claim there nippy.

No3 ......... Bleeding Heart Tetra, has been brought in on a couple of occassions.

No 4 ......... Black skirt Tetra, Only ever on one occassion.

No5 .......... Cherry Barb, Always get good reports on behavier.

No6 ..........Dwalf Gourami, Never had any Dwalf gourami's returned.

No6 .......... Bala Shark, Only ever returned because of size, never aggression.

This is only IMO what i see from a day to day situation, i would also like to say that even a fish that is said to be peaceful can sometimes end up to be aggressive. No-one knows what is going on in a fishes head.

I think it would be a good idea to slowly eliminate the fish one by one as madasafish said.

 

[Scottw68TN]

My barbs bite my arm when Im vacuming. They have quite a litlle pinch to them. The mollies I can feel a little but its more like a kiss. Barbs run over nip and run. I can't help but laugh everytime.

 

[dralarms]

don't have any No1 ......... Tiger barb, Unless kept in big groups, very nippy.

been in the tank since day one, no problems before No2 ......... Serpae Tetra, i get lots of these brought into me because customers claim there nippy.

ditto No3 ......... Bleeding Heart Tetra, has been brought in on a couple of occassions.

I think they were taking advantage. No 4 ......... Black skirt Tetra, Only ever on one occassion.

I have to agree, but you never know. No5 .......... Cherry Barb, Always get good reports on behavier.

These BAD boy's are now in my ick tank, my lfs said this is probally the culprit .No6 ..........Dwalf Gourami, Never had any Dwalf gourami's returned.

They were going to get to big any way so I took them back to the lfs, No6 .......... Bala Shark, Only ever returned because of size, never aggression.

I decided on taking the bala's back right after I got them but have just been lazy about it, the dwarf Gourami's were supposed to be "peaceful" but as you said you never know what's gonna go on in their head.

I will say this I didn't have any problem of this sort until they were introduced into the tank, which leads me to believe they are the guilty party.

Thanks for all the info. Guess I could put a camera on the tank and if anything happens again I'll have the evidance to convict the guilty party. lol

 

[ferret]

My barbs bite my arm when Im vacuming. They have quite a litlle pinch to them. The mollies I can feel a little but its more like a kiss. Barbs run over nip and run. I can't help but laugh everytime.

my oscars will nibble my fingers ;p They're still under 4 inches though ;p So cute. I made my wife hold her finger in the water until they did it to her, cause she's scared of them

 

[Scottw68TN]

If my oscat nibbled my fingers hed take one with him. He confronts my hand pretty regular during maintenance but chills out if I'm feeding him. I don't know what kind of damage he could do I usually let him win the stand offs. Anyone ever bit by a large oscar 10-12inch?

 

[dralarms]

Well it was def. the Dwalf Gourami's, put them in my 10 gal and within 4 hrs had a dead Harlequin Rasbora. If this keeps up I'll have to sepeeate them altogether, dang, my wife is gonna kill me when I tell her I need another tank

 

[jhd]

I would release all the fish and spend an hour or so in front of the tank, with tank light on and room light off (the darker, the better). Fish seems to behave differently with us around, but if you are motionless for a long while, they forget and natural behavior will display the aggressors.
This is how I found out that my angel the size of a dime was taking chunks off my male pearl gourami. Now angels are in their own tank. needed about half an hour to see the normal behavior pattern.

 

[dralarms]

Yea I understand that. Thanks

 

[angelstiger]

If my oscat nibbled my fingers hed take one with him. He confronts my hand pretty regular during maintenance but chills out if I'm feeding him. I don't know what kind of damage he could do I usually let him win the stand offs. Anyone ever bit by a large oscar 10-12inch?

Years ago I had an oscar that would grab my finger and I would lift his head right out of the tank. They have no teeth. They gum thier food and swollow i whole.

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

I'm pretty sure they have teeth...my brothers oscars would tear apart frogs (which I guess got what they were askin for by coming in the house and jumpin into their tank)

8O