One fish always chases another.

[bullwinkle]

Hi. I'm new here and need advice.


I have a 10 gallon tank. I have a bottom feeder (looks like a dinosaur) who over the years has grown from 1" to 6". No one fools with him! I also have a minnow who is about 3" long. This guy is always harassing my goldfish, about 2 1/2" long. He chases him around the tank and is always "in his face" so to speak. The goldfish's dorsal fin is high, so I don't know if he's harassing him or if they're simply playing. The goldfish's behavior is always laid back. He's not an aggressive eater, while the minnow eats like a shark!



I do have a time-out cage which I have used on the minnow but it doesn't seem to change his behavior.


Any ideas?

 

[SaraB]

You need a bigger tank. That dinosaur like fish, do you have a picture? It might be a bichir (or a huge goby, I'm not too familiar with gobies)and they need huge tanks. So do goldfish who also grow from 6"-12" in aquariums.

 

[bullwinkle]

Thanks for responding Sara

I am an amateur fish person. There is no room for a bigger tank. As it is I have to change the water every two weeks by hand.


I call the bottom feeder a dinosaur fish because he looks prehistoric. Huge dorsal fin and no one messes with him.


The minnow has calmed down a bit. Perhaps he only chases the goldfish when he gets bored. He doesn't bite him, but bumps him with his nose. So are they playing? I don't know.

 

[SaraB]

Ok your tank is still overstocked. I would rehome your goldfish and "dinosaur" fish. Then you can get a few more minnows which are a schooling and needs friends.
Also with the goldfish and dinosaur fish you need to be cleaning way more than once every 2 weeks.

 

[bullwinkle]

I have a simple question...

How do you "rehome" a fish?


I used to have 3 minnows plus the dino fish. The minnows lived for 6 years before they died, so I got 2 minnows. One wouldn't eat so he died. (In fact it did occur to me that as the dino fish grows, it will eventually starve since there is only so much "food" that it eats.) So I got two small fish (don't know what type). They died. My theory is that they couldn't tolerate the 64 degree temperature. They were at 80 when I bought them and I gradually acclimated them to 64 but it was still probably too cold.



So that's when I got the goldfish to keep the minnow company. The minnow never chased the smaller fish but he does bump the goldfish a lot.



So back to my original question...are they playing or is it bullying? And yes, I will try to replace 1/3 of the water on a 7 or 10 day basis.

 

[SaraB]

They are probably unhappy so no, not playing. You can rehome fish via online, websites like kijiji or craigslist or Facebook will let you sell fish.
You can also try talking to a local fish store and see if they can take your fish. Mine will give store credit for fish.

 

[earhtmother]

Your *dinosaur fish* sounds like a Sailfin Pleco which can grow very large - mine was 3-4" when I bought him, he's about 18" now. He needs a much larger tank. Your Goldfish needs a minimum of 20g to be happy. Both should be rehomed either by giving them to someone else or as SaraB says asking at you local fish store if they will take them and give you a store credit. Buying a few more minnows once that is done would give you a happy healthier tank esp with MINIMUM 36% water changes every week. If you have to do it by hand do several smaller changes every few days

 

[bullwinkle]

Isn't the dorsal fin an indicator of health and therefore happiness?

 

[earhtmother]

Bullwinkle

Fins that are not clamped to tight to the body are simply a sign the fish isn't *ill*, not necessarily whether it is stressed/not stressed or if it's simply surviving instead of thriving

 

[lindseym]

Though I do agree with the previous replies, it is also possible your minnow just wants friends so-to-say. minnows are schooling fish and you generally need at least two, if not three together for them to be happy. However, the way you described it, it seems as though they’re just stressed :-/