Fighting catfish

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JuliaGulia

JuliaGulia

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 27, 2016
7
2
3
Perth, Western Australia
My featherfin catfish has been heartbroken since her (I think it's a she) mate died about 6 months ago and she stopped swimming around the tank and just lies in one spot. I found a mate for her but she won't accept him. It's been a week and she chases him all over the tank and bites him but hasn't done him any visible damage. I have a seperate tank for cichlids. Should I remove the male catfish and put him in that or persist and hope that she will accept him into her territory? I thought I was helping her out by replacing her mate but apparently not!
 
What's the tank size and inhabitants?

Could try re-arranging decor to reset territories, if that doesn't work it MIGHT just take her time to accept, or she likely won't and you'll have to remove
 
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convict360 said:
What's the tank size and inhabitants?

Could try re-arranging decor to reset territories, if that doesn't work it MIGHT just take her time to accept, or she likely won't and you'll have to remove
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It's about 80 gallons and not much in it - two pearl gouramis and a few tetras. I set up a new area when I put the new catfish in so he'd have a save haven away from her but she comes over to him and harrasses him out of it. It's been a week now so i'm just wondering if anyone has advice on how much longer to give it before giving up on her getting used to him.
 
JuliaGulia said:
It's about 80 gallons and not much in it - two pearl gouramis and a few tetras. I set up a new area when I put the new catfish in so he'd have a save haven away from her but she comes over to him and harrasses him out of it. It's been a week now so i'm just wondering if anyone has advice on how much longer to give it before giving up on her getting used to him.
Click to expand...

Try the new decor, reset all existing territories; if that fails then I'd consider giving up
 
JuliaGulia said:
My featherfin catfish has been heartbroken since her (I think it's a she) mate died about 6 months ago and she stopped swimming around the tank and just lies in one spot. I found a mate for her but she won't accept him. It's been a week and she chases him all over the tank and bites him but hasn't done him any visible damage. I have a seperate tank for cichlids. Should I remove the male catfish and put him in that or persist and hope that she will accept him into her territory? I thought I was helping her out by replacing her mate but apparently not!
Click to expand...
Welcome to MFK!

This is not too surprising but a hard one, a judgment call, I'd say. No visible damage tells me that the bullying is not too bad and a couple of weeks, may be three, might be allowed for dust to settle. If the new guy feeds, he/she is relatively comfortable and longer adjustment period may be tried.

Good advice above. Adding more decor may help too. As would adding more eupterus to dilute the aggression. What size is the old one and the new one?

In general synos are fine with cichlids. Another option is to move both synos in with the cichlids. This should change the whole interaction scheme altogether.

Do you know how to sex them? Per http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=121
First lay the fish in your hand with its head toward your palm and the tail toward your fingers. Hold the dorsal spine between your middle and ring finger so the fish is belly up and you won't get stuck (Which by the way, hurts like crazy!). The genital pore is in a small furrow of tissue (in healthy fish) and will be obstructed by the pelvic fins. Pull down on the tail gently to arch the fishes spine and the pelvic fins will stand and the furrow open to display the genital pore and the anus of the fish. The male has a somewhat ridged genital papillae on which the spermatoduct is on the back side, facing the tail fin. A gravid female will also show an extended papillae but the oviduct is on the ventral side of the papillae (And may also show a little redness if really gravid). A thin or emaciated female will have just two pink pores, the oviduct and the anus.
 
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Thanks everyone for your replies. Both the old and new catfish are around 17-18 cms long. I picked the new one because it was the same size in the hope they'd get along. I have changed the decor, done a water change, so now I will give it another week and see if things settle down before moving anyone to the other tank.
 
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