Extremely aggressive baby dat

49ersfan

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 11, 2013
106
1
16
Bay Area, CA
I am new to dats, i got a 1.5" indo 2 months ago he is about 2.5" now. I love the little guy but i have noticed he is very aggressive too any new fish i introduce into my tank recently chases the yellow tail cuda and the african brown knife all around the tank. I picked up 2 more dats today about 1.5" each and introduced them into the tank, well my dat killed one in the first 5 mins and i just got the other one out before he killed him. Any suggestions on how to make him work with more dats? i would love to have 3 but it seems like he does not want that to happen.
 

Empyreal

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Sep 2, 2013
1,278
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Las Vegas, NV
Well I have only one dat and its the only one I have ever had so heres my two cents with that being said. My dad can be aggressive with my Earth Eaters and some of my other fish. I counter this by making sure that all the other fish are larger than the dat but not too large where they would try to eat him. As far as dat-on-dat aggression I heard they are meanest to other dats so it may not be the best idea without adding them all at once. If you are determined to have more than one datnoid I would suggest first removing the original. Then move all the decor around and put in the new dats. After about a day move the original back in. Best of luck! Let me know how it goes
 

49ersfan

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 11, 2013
106
1
16
Bay Area, CA
Thanks for the info thats kinda the idea i had the 2 are in different tanks now but will soon be in a 80 gallon this weekend which will be new to both of them hope that calms the aggression.
 

Empyreal

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Sep 2, 2013
1,278
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Las Vegas, NV
Thanks for the info thats kinda the idea i had the 2 are in different tanks now but will soon be in a 80 gallon this weekend which will be new to both of them hope that calms the aggression.
Yes it should help alot. Mine are in a 100 gallon and I noticed my Datnoid always chases fish out of "his area". BTW I went to school at UNR and used to watch Kaepernick play, so they are my second favorite team ATM. sucks they lost today
 

koltsixx

Global Moderator
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Feb 13, 2007
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I'm definitely not a Dat expert as much like Empyreal my personal experience is extremely limited as I've only kept three Indo's and never at the same time so take my advice with a grain of salt. In the first two cases they where kept with larger fish some of which where CA/SA cichlids and in my experience where at least as aggressive as the CA/SA's, which surprised me since I thought they where a shy, retiring fish in general.

With that said I decided to treat them the same as CA/SA's and used decor to try and create territories and break up line of sight and give the Dat a place to hide. In my experience it worked much better in curbing the Dats aggression then the the cichlids. As an ambush predator the Indo claimed what he considered the best hide and then only really got defensive/aggressive when another fish approached it. The Indo's basically hung around their hide only venturing far for periodic patrols and feedings instead of constantly patrolling and chasing fish most of the time before the hide. So that approach is what worked well for me in curbing Indo aggression and I'll also offer up that all my Indo's have been extremely stable which I credit(perhaps mistakenly, maybe I just got lucky) to being comfortable in my set up.

As for keeping more than one Dat I'd try adding as many juveniles as possible and keeping them in odd numbers and thinning the herd as they grow. Hopefully with a fair amount of targets and an odd number of them will allow the aggression to be spread between them. Another plus is as you thin them out as they grow you can keep the best tempered, stable and patterned of the group. Again just my opinion and I hope a helpful one.
 

Empyreal

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Sep 2, 2013
1,278
60
66
Las Vegas, NV
I'm definitely not a Dat expert as much like Empyreal my personal experience is extremely limited as I've only kept three Indo's and never at the same time so take my advice with a grain of salt. In the first two cases they where kept with larger fish some of which where CA/SA cichlids and in my experience where at least as aggressive as the CA/SA's, which surprised me since I thought they where a shy, retiring fish in general.

With that said I decided to treat them the same as CA/SA's and used decor to try and create territories and break up line of sight and give the Dat a place to hide. In my experience it worked much better in curbing the Dats aggression then the the cichlids. As an ambush predator the Indo claimed what he considered the best hide and then only really got defensive/aggressive when another fish approached it. The Indo's basically hung around their hide only venturing far for periodic patrols and feedings instead of constantly patrolling and chasing fish most of the time before the hide. So that approach is what worked well for me in curbing Indo aggression and I'll also offer up that all my Indo's have been extremely stable which I credit(perhaps mistakenly, maybe I just got lucky) to being comfortable in my set up.

As for keeping more than one Dat I'd try adding as many juveniles as possible and keeping them in odd numbers and thinning the herd as they grow. Hopefully with a fair amount of targets and an odd number of them will allow the aggression to be spread between them. Another plus is as you thin them out as they grow you can keep the best tempered, stable and patterned of the group. Again just my opinion and I hope a helpful one.
Its funny you bring that up. Multiple people have asks me if my Indo hides alot, is unstable, and is generaly "shy" when they hear I have one. I said no it is not the case at all! Infact for the Indo's size (approx 3in) and the size of his tank mates approx 7in, he is always out and about. He is never shy to be in the mix during feeding and is a very entertaining wet pet.
 

Ade

Piranha
MFK Member
Jun 7, 2008
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London
I am new to dats, i got a 1.5" indo 2 months ago he is about 2.5" now. I love the little guy but i have noticed he is very aggressive too any new fish i introduce into my tank recently chases the yellow tail cuda and the african brown knife all around the tank. I picked up 2 more dats today about 1.5" each and introduced them into the tank, well my dat killed one in the first 5 mins and i just got the other one out before he killed him. Any suggestions on how to make him work with more dats? i would love to have 3 but it seems like he does not want that to happen.
How big is the tank.?
what decor are you using?
 

49ersfan

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 11, 2013
106
1
16
Bay Area, CA
Thanks for all the replies guys my original dat is in a 30 gallon tall ( i know its small and overcrowded) with his own box with holes in it which he is the only one allowed in except the tire track eel which he gets along with great. I have a established 80 gallon with my larger fish i will be transfering the fish from the 30 to the 80 and fish from the 80 to a 125 so my hope is if i put the new smaller dat in the 80 gallon first for a few days then add my original dat in after could that possible help the territorial issue?
 

isde02

Arapaima
MFK Member
Jan 4, 2011
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Ohio
I had a crazy aggressive indo that I raised from 1in to 6in and I got tired of him and got rid of him. He would attack any and all fish larger than him, and if I put him in a tank alone he would sulk, go unstable and stop eating. He had a great colors and personality, he would beg for food, chase my wife back and forth any time she would walk past his tank and try to chase my hand when I put it in the tank but he was nuts. He bullied on my characins so I put him in with my growout cichlids which he bullied until they out grew him and tried to kill him.
 

49ersfan

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 11, 2013
106
1
16
Bay Area, CA
Thats what im afraid of i really like him, i got him pellet trained and he has a ton of personality he just is super agressive to any new fish in the tank he is completely fine with the one there before him.
 
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