DjFizz
Aquarium Advice Newbie
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!
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!