For six months I kept three bluegills in a 55-gallon tank. They were chasing each other at first but once I put in some rocks to break up their line of sight the aggressiveness mostly went away. After I moved, however, they spent a few weeks in a holding tank, and when I introduced them to the new tank setup (with lots of hiding spots) the aggressiveness escalated.
The biggest fish and the middle-sized fish established their territories on either end of the tank but the little guy was harassed no matter where he went. In hopes to reduce the aggression, I decided to temporarily remove the big one so I could rearrange and then add him back a few weeks later. (He ended up getting sick so this turned out to be a couple of months rather than a few weeks.) Well, removing him made things worse because without the alpha male to keep the second biggest in check, the second biggest became a straight up a-hole. Eventually, when I began 'redecorating,' I decided to get rid of him. My little guy had the new setup all to himself for about a week - and loved it!
Today I introduced the big one again and within 30 seconds he started chasing the little guy. The little guy won't use any of his hiding spots and prefers to stay above the plants and rocks for some reason.
What are your thoughts on what to do to decrease aggression from here? Should I add another fish to spread things out or is there a way to make the little guy use his hiding spots?
The biggest fish and the middle-sized fish established their territories on either end of the tank but the little guy was harassed no matter where he went. In hopes to reduce the aggression, I decided to temporarily remove the big one so I could rearrange and then add him back a few weeks later. (He ended up getting sick so this turned out to be a couple of months rather than a few weeks.) Well, removing him made things worse because without the alpha male to keep the second biggest in check, the second biggest became a straight up a-hole. Eventually, when I began 'redecorating,' I decided to get rid of him. My little guy had the new setup all to himself for about a week - and loved it!
Today I introduced the big one again and within 30 seconds he started chasing the little guy. The little guy won't use any of his hiding spots and prefers to stay above the plants and rocks for some reason.
What are your thoughts on what to do to decrease aggression from here? Should I add another fish to spread things out or is there a way to make the little guy use his hiding spots?
