My fish keep attacking each other!

[Yodlem]

There isn't one fish in my tank that isn't involved in some sort of attacking conflict. Especially the Platty and the two serpa tetra I have...

I have one male and female platy. The female attacks the male. Two serpa tetra, one is a little bigger than the other and they attack each other. One white skirt tetra, who attacks the small serpa tetra, one angelfish, but nobody messes with (him?her?) because it's so big

The female platy doesn't like anybody and attacks everyone else (Except for the angelfish.) And i've tried seperating her by putting her in a breeding net for a week or so. After i got her out of the net, she seemed to not attack anybody, but within a few days, she began her little tyraid all over again

I saw that this was bad for the platy because she's had bad experiences with breeding nets... are there any other solutions that aren't harmful?

 

[bs6749]

How big of a tank and how many fish exactly?

 

[Yodlem]

10 gallon 6 fish

see myinfo for more info

 

[JDogg]

10 gallon 6 fish

see myinfo for more info

a ten is too small

the angel will get too big for that tank if it isn't already, they get to be 6" top to bottom, needs atleast a 30 gallon imo

the tetra should not be in a school of less then 6 individuals of each species.

you should have atleast 2 female platys for each male...

IMO you will solve alot of problems if you

A) get a larger tank, add to your tetra schools
or
B) put alot of thought into changing your stocking

not trying to be mean or anything, but i see alot of problem that are most likly leading to the agression, and it can only get worse.

 

[Gplayerz]

i had a problem like that i had 3 tetras in my 10 gallon along with some platys and the tetras would occasionally attack the platys, so i just took the tetras back to the store and now wverything is fine.

 

[Yodlem]

thats what i thought...
but i don't think i can get a bigger tank...
i think they'll be sort of okay....for now d:

 

[Gplayerz]

i think that tetras are a bit territorial more so than the platys, just keep an eye on things in case they get worse.

 

[Gloomy]

I think that tetras are bullies...I had 4 black skirts in a 29 gal that would beat up my dwarf gourami

 

[tropicalfish]

Not all tetras are bullies...
My tetras just like to chase each other and swim against the flow of the airstone,.. they are very active.

 

[zenkatydid]

if you can't upgrade the tank, how about getting rid of one of the species to increase the other? like instead of having 2 platies and 2 tetras, have 4 tetras (or vice versa, or whatever your numbers are). that way whatever fish you keep feel safer and are less inclined to attack the others. basically you're putting them in a stressful environment, without the protection of their own kind - of course they're getting stressed and nippy.

 

[JohnPaul]

I agree, the problems with you fish are due to the stocking.

Overcrowding tends to bring out the worst in any fish species, and it sounds like you are at least pushing your limit. If there is not a lot of plant cover, that will make the situation worse as the fish will not be able to easily hide, and the sight-lines between fish will rarely be broken.

Schooling fish tend to keep to themselves when they are kept in proper-sized schools (usually 6 or more). When you start dealing with having only 1 or 2 of a schooling species, they are stressed (since they need a large school to feel comfortable) and one way that stress is manifested is through heightened aggression.

No way you can keep an angel long-term in a 10g tank.

IMO platies only tend to be aggressive if they are significantly larger than the other things in the tank. A platy as aggressive as you decribe sounds odd to me.

What I would recommend is to decide on one of the tetra species and get around 6 of those, and then maybe a single centerpiece fish (a lone platy, or a dwarf gourami, something like that), and that would be it. Return all the others to the fish store.

 

[coldmachineUK]

Hi, I agree with what's been said before: a 10G is far too small for an angel unfortunately, and I would recommend first off that you take it back to the LFS.

As for the platies: with most livebearers you need a ratio of 1 male to 2 or 3 females, purely to distribute...his 'attention' Your female platy probably feels very harrassed right now.

And tetras as with most schooling fish do best in groups of 6+

If I was you I would:

1. Take the angelfish back pronto
2. Choose between either platies or tetras. I would opt for tetras in a 10G tbh, because platies will grow larger. I would get 6 tetra in a 10G and leave it at that (maybe add a couple of shrimp as bottom feeders/scavengers).