columbian drama...any ideas?

[iheartmyfish]

hey guys, long time, no post ive been away studying endangered turtles, but now im back!
okay so ive had my columbian shark for about 2 1/2 - 3 years. a big, healthy gal named noodle. i had started with two columbians, but addie (the other one) comitted suicide about 5 months ago. noodle had gotten real lonely lately, and i had been wanting to get her a new friend, but couldnt find a columbian even close to her size, or healthy for that matter. well finally i found one, about 3 weeks ago, who was barely a little smaller than noodle and plump and healthy. so i took buddha (named for her fat, jolly look) home and the two fell in love happy story? welll....it had been.
just today, overnight, buddha has developed frayed fins, from stress im assuming. the water parameters are perfect, and noodle is as healthy looking as can be. they have plllleennttyy of room to swim, and to stay away from each other, and a place to hide. any ideas on what i can do other than seperate the two? i really want to get buddha healthy again, and have the two getting along. (but of course i have no control on their feelings for each other)
thanx guyz

 

[rubysoho]

this is a shot in the dark because I have no experience with this, but could you essentially treat them like two cats that you are introducing for the first time and you seperate the two (like keep the newest arrival in a room with the door shut) so they can first get use to eachother's presence, and then later on let them interact??? I don't know if fish work like this, but it is how I helped my neighbor with introducing their new kitten to their old cat who never seemed to like anyone but humans, and only a few humans. I bet someone with more experience will come along with the right answer (hopefully!). Btw, how was studying turtles? I wish I could go off and study snow leopards *dreaming*.

 

[iheartmyfish]

hey, wow, sorry for not responding sooner. ive been working on my research data and composing it into a paper. turtle-ing was great! a lot of great experience and it was sooo much fun. hard work, but def worth it.
so the sharks, i wish they were like cats, because then they would at least understand the command "no!" when noodle gets into her dominant stage. i think im gonna need to get a screen. i feel bad, but i hope it works!
thanx!
(keep dreamin about the snow leopards, dreams do come true!)

 

[Pufferpunk]

Are you sure it is the other shark that is doing this? Don't you have puffer/s in there? Sometimes, when you intorduce a new fish to an established tank with established territories, it is best ot re-arrange the decor.

 

[poppab02]

Maybe I've heard and read wrong info but from what I understand I thought that Columbian sharks prefer to be the one to a tank. Perhaps I'm wrong but that's what I've heard.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Actually, I believe they like to school.

 

[rubysoho]

from what I've read about them, they prefer groups of three so two should be fine I would think. Maybe if you have room, get a third?? I know loaches seem to do better in threes so perhaps a third would help the zen of your tank?

Also, do you know the tank conditions which your newest columbian shark was in? I read that they do better in slightly brackish water as adults so maybe there is a difference between the water setup of your tank and the previous home of buddah... let us know if anything improves. Maybe they were just getting a little bit of structure established in the tank. I hope it all works out for you.

 

[flipz]

well she's still busy working on all her research, but i know her so im going to respond for her before this topic falls off.

the puffer has been moved into his own tank, so the two columbians are on their own.

she doesn't necessarily think that the old columbian did this to the new one. it's not like she attacked her. but she's thinking maybe just stress from the old one being "dominant" and chasing her around the tank. 95% of the day is spent with them just "schooling" around the tank, but occasionally she does chase her around in an aggresive way. there are a few places for each to hide.

and no, the columbians aren't meant to be alone. it's supposed to be in groups of 3 or more. unfortunatly like iheartmyfish said, it was hard enough finding one that was anywhere near our sharks size. and even when we did find 1 or 2 others, they were always close to death. and anything that she can fit in her mouth will go in it, so we can't put a smaller one in.

buddha did come from a freshwater tank. noodle was kept in brackish so it was a very slow process of dropping her down to nearly 100% fresh, and now it's a very slow process of bringing it back to brackish. it's been about 3 weeks and the tank is maybe half way there. it wasn't until a couple days ago that the fins showed up frayed though.

thanks for everyones responses. hopefully iheartmyfish is able to get back on soon.

-brent

 

[Pufferpunk]

Most fish like that are better kept alone, or in groups of 3 or more, for exactally that reason. The larger one will constantly chase/harass the smaller one. All I can I think of is to keep them seperated (maybe a tank divider?) until a 3rd fish is located.

 

[poppab02]

Well, I'm glad I found that out. I think I got that info because when I bought mine (now deceased) I asked whether I should get 2 and was told they do better alone. I guess I should have asked whether I should get 3. I'm always glad to get better info.

 

[rubysoho]

thanks for the update! hopefully things will settle in the tank and everyone will be happy

 

[iheartmyfish]

hey guyz, thanx for ur responses. flipz was right, im soo busy!
i knew there needed to be three in the tank, but as of right now, there are absolutely no healthy columbians out there! ive been to all the large surrounding areas near me and nothing. i think im going to have to seperate them, but when i do, noodle throws her hissy fit. and buddha tries to get to noodle too. i really dont understand those two. shrug! they need a referee. hopefully soon i can find one thats healthy and doesnt fit in anyones mouth!