Please help my goldfish are fighting and I don't know what to do!

[littlejojo]

Hello everyone,

I need help because I am very worried about my fish. I have one black moor (Gawp) and one panda moor (Plink). Gawp is about three years old, he's lovely and calm, and Plink was added to my tank about 5 or 6 weeks ago because my previous fish died. Plink is probably a few months old, he's about 2 inches long; Gawp is 3 - 3/12 inches long. I have had no problems with these two together until last night, when Plink started attacking Gawp. Plink will swim up to Gawp and bite his tail, and Gawp is continually swimming away and trying to hide. It's horrible to watch. I removed Plink and put him in a separate bowl overnight, and this morning put Plink back in the tank to see if it was just random but sadly Plink immediately started chasing Gawp again, biting his tail, and acting exactly as he did yesterday. So I've once again removed Plink and currently have him in a separate bowl. The fish have been fed so I'm certain that it's not hunger that's motivating Plink's bullying.

I'm worried because I just don't know what to do. I can't keep Plink in a bowl forever, but I can't really afford a new tank either at the moment. I definitely do not want to flush Plink down the toilet, as I've read elsewhere as a solution to fighting fish. I completely disagree with that.

My other worry is that my boyfriend and I are away over the weekend, usually we will put the goldfish weekend food sticks in and they have been fine in the past. But now I'm worried about leaving Plink in a bowl over the weekend, I don't have a spare filter and the temperature changes are more dramatic in the bowl than in the tank.

I would really appreciate some advice on this, I really don't know what to do and it really upsets me that Plink's started bullying Gawp when they were fine before. I have a 40 litre tank and just the two fish.

Thanks.

Jo

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Hello everyone,

I need help because I am very worried about my fish. I have one black moor (Gawp) and one panda moor (Plink). Gawp is about three years old, he's lovely and calm, and Plink was added to my tank about 5 or 6 weeks ago because my previous fish died. Plink is probably a few months old, he's about 2 inches long; Gawp is 3 - 3/12 inches long. I have had no problems with these two together until last night, when Plink started attacking Gawp. Plink will swim up to Gawp and bite his tail, and Gawp is continually swimming away and trying to hide. It's horrible to watch. I removed Plink and put him in a separate bowl overnight, and this morning put Plink back in the tank to see if it was just random but sadly Plink immediately started chasing Gawp again, biting his tail, and acting exactly as he did yesterday. So I've once again removed Plink and currently have him in a separate bowl. The fish have been fed so I'm certain that it's not hunger that's motivating Plink's bullying.

I'm worried because I just don't know what to do. I can't keep Plink in a bowl forever, but I can't really afford a new tank either at the moment. I definitely do not want to flush Plink down the toilet, as I've read elsewhere as a solution to fighting fish. I completely disagree with that.

My other worry is that my boyfriend and I are away over the weekend, usually we will put the goldfish weekend food sticks in and they have been fine in the past. But now I'm worried about leaving Plink in a bowl over the weekend, I don't have a spare filter and the temperature changes are more dramatic in the bowl than in the tank.

I would really appreciate some advice on this, I really don't know what to do and it really upsets me that Plink's started bullying Gawp when they were fine before. I have a 40 litre tank and just the two fish.

Thanks.

Jo

I've had a pair of black Moors for over 4 years and added a young Fancy Fantail that at first was doing the same thing always picking on them and sometimes even kinda trying to bite them. I was at the point of returning him and in a short time he mellowed out and they're one big happy family now. It maybe a pecking order thing, but can't say for sure. The 3 did produce a batch fry that are doing quite well right now in a nursery tank though .

The only thing I can think to suggest is to get a tank divider to keep them apart when the new one's getting too aggressive.

 

[littlejojo]

Reply

Hey,

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I can't get a tank divider today and I'm worried about keeping Plink in a bowl over the weekend. Any advice?

Thanks.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Hey,

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I can't get a tank divider today and I'm worried about keeping Plink in a bowl over the weekend. Any advice?

Thanks.

You can't get one before the weekend?

 

[Hubert90]

They are probably showin breeding behaviors. Have u being able to identify the sex of ur two moors? U can also try rearranging ur tank decor, and have u checked ur water parameters? Sometimes when the water parameters becomes bad, they do tend to show aggression.

 

[Dwohlge1]

It doesn't sound like breeding to me. The new fish is only 2 inches long So I would not think it is mature. Maybe some else can chime in on this point.

I had the same issue. I have heard it is very rare. I had an 1.5 in Oranda that stressed out an killed 1 of the other goldfish. So lfs told me just get a bigger fish. So I got a 3 in ryukin. The Oranda constantly nipped and bit his tail an stressed him out so bad he started almost floating. I took him out and kept him by himself in a 10 till a friend took him for me. He now lives with a couple huge comets in a 44g and he knows to leave them alone.

I then got a new Oranda and placed him with the Ryukin. He would chase the ryukin around the first 3 days but eventually adjusted. They are best friends now.

I would check you water parameters. Maybe there is a water issue thatvis stressing the fish out? Also what size tank do you have?

 

[Dwohlge1]

I just saw you have a 40L tank. Which is 10 gallons. I believe this is your issue. I would be curious to know what you water parameters are.

For fancy goldfish the rule of thumb is 20g for the first fish the 10 g for each additional.

 

[GoldieLocks1]

I just saw you have a 40L tank. Which is 10 gallons. I believe this is your issue. I would be curious to know what you water parameters are.

For fancy goldfish the rule of thumb is 20g for the first fish the 10 g for each additional.

I think Dwohlge1 hit it on the nail there. Your probably getting a lot of chasing because there isnt that much room. I had the same problem and had to unfortunately give away my Black Moor. And maybe if you still feel that you want Gawp to have company, you might want to consider getting a bigger tank They are uper cheap on sites such as Ebay! Let us know how you get on

 

[Dwohlge1]

Yeah, even if you decide to just keep Gwap in the 10g you are going to need to make sure you keep an eye on your water parameters and do pwc's weekly. Probably 30-50% pwcs, but he would do better in something larger.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I just saw you have a 40L tank. Which is 10 gallons. I believe this is your issue. I would be curious to know what you water parameters are.

For fancy goldfish the rule of thumb is 20g for the first fish the 10 g for each additional.

+1

My bad, read it at 40G not 40L .

Rather than a tank divider, you really need a bigger tank and then your aggressive goldie should mello out IME. The new one is mostly likely sensing the weakened state of your first fish and taking advantage of it to claim more space.