Question: Aggressive WCMM

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DjFizz

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Apr 14, 2016
Messages
9
Location
Pennsylvania
Hey all. I'm not sure if this belongs in the unhealthy section, apologies if so. I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to this, but I just wanted to run it by you guys for confirmation.

About 4 days ago I introduced my first fish to my 20L aquarium. (2) white cloud minnows, one male, one female. They are the only inhabitants of the tank thus far. I've noticed that the male tends to be aggressive towards the female, and he nips at her.

At first it seemed to only be here and there, so i thought it was a "playful" thing (mind you, I'm new to fish owning). But now I'm seeing a consistent behavior. The female spends a lot of time in hiding, but she will come out to swim with him throughout the day. I've noticed that he tries to coax her out of hiding a lot, and when she does come out (whether by his influence or on her own), he often (but not always) goes and nips at her. He hasn't harmed her as far as I can tell.

I'm assuming this is all due stress since they are community fish, and there are only two of them right now. I do plan on having at least 5, but with it being a new tank, I don't want to upset the bio-load. How long should I wait before adding more WCM's, would it be safe to add 3 more at once instead of 2, and is there anything I can do in the meantime to minimize his aggression? Thanks!
 
Your male may be trying ton spawn or develop a pecking order.

If you get a good sized group this issue should go away.


Fishobsessed7

Money Can't Buy Happiness, But It Can Buy Fish Which Is Pretty Much The Same Thing
 
White clouds tend to be happiest in groups of at least six fish, mixed males and females. The males will spend lots of time trying to impress each other and the ladies, reducing the harassment.
 
Thanks! Do you have any insight about the second part of my question in regards to how many I can safely add in at once?
 
Is your tank cycled or is this fish-in cycling? If you did a fishless cycle and your water parameters are good, you should be able to add a small school right away, assuming your do regular water changes. Even if a fish-in cycle, you could probably add four more and just do larger than normal water changes until your tank is fully cycled.

After that, I highly recommend quarantining any new fish before adding them to your cycled tank.
 
I was doing fishless, but switched to fish in after 2 months of waiting. I have been doing regular water changes and monitoring parameters though, and will continue to do so until everything is stable. I don't have a QT right now, but I'll keep that in mind before adding my GloFish later.
 
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