When is aggression too much?

shawe1 · Jan 14, 2014

At what point do you decide to permanently remove a fish from your tank due to aggression?

After a fight? After a death? Or just simply when a fish is unsettling the tank?

I'm interested to know when enough is enough for you.

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rodger · Jan 14, 2014

If it's a fish my wife likes, as soon as chasing starts.

When I kept CA cichlids it wouldn't happen for a long time because I would keep rearranging the tank to confuse things.
Currently I don't have fish that are territorial so no fighting. They just try and eat each other.

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UncleEasy · Jan 14, 2014

Up to you, I would only move fish out if the ones getting picked on seem to be stressed out. In a situation like this having alot of hiding spots can help minimize stress. lowering water temp can help with aggression IME

Crazy mike · Jan 14, 2014

For me it's once shredded fins become to common place or when a fish is getting to stressed

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duanes · Jan 14, 2014

Although aggression seems to be a normal part of life for many fish like cichlids, in nature there is often room to escape, and recover, but most aquariums are too small to afford that luxury.
Beyond the harassment of the fish being attacked, and maybe eventually killed if the aggression is serious enough, and/or constant.
An aggressive fish can set the entire tank into a crash, because when fish are stressed, there immune system becomes suppressed, breaking down and allowing normally benign bacteria to become pathogenic, which could eventually start an epidemic infecting all.
For me, sometimes 24 hours is/and has been too long.
But even in nature there may not be enough room, check out the beat up uropthalmus is this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb3v0VJTg5c

BigFinn · Jan 14, 2014

When a fish is constantly being aggressive and chases everything in the tank. It also never stops. Facing this problem right now with a big oscar...

shawe1 · Jan 15, 2014

duanes said:
Although aggression seems to be a normal part of life for many fish like cichlids, in nature there is often room to escape, and recover, but most aquariums are too small to afford that luxury.
Beyond the harassment of the fish being attacked, and maybe eventually killed if the aggression is serious enough, and/or constant.
An aggressive fish can set the entire tank into a crash, because when fish are stressed, there immune system becomes suppressed, breaking down and allowing normally benign bacteria to become pathogenic, which could eventually start an epidemic infecting all.
For me, sometimes 24 hours is/and has been too long.
But even in nature there may not be enough room, check out the beat up uropthalmus is this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb3v0VJTg5c

You're right and one thing I am beginning to learn is that once a fish shows a certain level of aggression it never settles back in to the community and will continue to disrupt the tank until some action is taken.

I am currently having a situation where I have had to put a pair (showing signs of breeding) who were occupying their own tank, back in to the community they originally came from. Since doing this the male has become aggressive to every fish he crosses paths with, including his female.

I think this is one of the beauties with trying to set up a community tank that includes territorial fish, it is trial and error until you find that balance and until you get that balance, fish will come and go.

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duanes · Jan 15, 2014

I find community tanks are almost always impossible with many territorial (often considered) aggressive fish.
Because certain fish (for instance Nandopsis haitiensus) are the only one of its kind (and top dog)in its natural habitat, trying to house it with other cichlids nearly always ends in disaster. If the haitiensus can't kill the other cichlid(s), it usually dies of stress.
And though haitiensus is isolated due to its island habitat, mainland fish isolated by geographical barriers can have the same tendency. I find an alpha (and some non alpha fish) Herichthys carpintus, beani and xCichlasoma grammodes (among others) can be in the same category.
Trying to add these to cichlid communities, if under 500 gals, is almost always an exercise in futility.

convict360 · Jan 15, 2014

Continuous aggression is when it becomes a problem to me, to clarify this, if a cichlid for example chases other fish at feeding time; or every so often takes a small temper tantrum without causing too much damage, to me's thats negotiably fine.

On the other hand, if the cichlid does not let up at all, then unless you have great sight breaks and hiding spaces then you're inevitably looking at stress induced disease etc.

I don't think fish should have to face undue stress that can be avoided.

JasonsPlecosCichlids · Jan 15, 2014

For me, depends on the size of the fish, how relentless he is and the early damage he inflicts on the other. Right now I have a RD, he has some decent teeth. When i first added him, he had a few issues with the other fish but never did anything major. Even towards the salvini's which he could demolish at any time, he just moves them around with his mouth. Now, my Argentia, he has a lot of power, he is relentless and causes major damage to other fish. When I can hear a fish hit another fish when I'm sitting at my computer in the other room even though its only 15 feet away, then I take a look and see him chasing the fish around the tank, scales floating or the Argent spitting them out, etc. Then I know it's time to remove the fish. The Argent is in a 75 with a 7" clown loach that he doesn't seem to bother. I also try moving items around in the tank but that just doesn't work. When he was in my 500, I had no problems, now that he is in a tank half that size, he seems to have a problem with that. When I get the 300 setup, I will try him again.


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When is aggression too much?

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