MBU eating everyone!!!

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puffa lover

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 8, 2010
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surrey
I have always kept my MBU with other fish (spotted puffer, fire eel and 2 barracudas) and they have been fine but recently ive added a rope fish - he bit his head off, a expensive tiginus - bit its tail off (dead now) and now im really scared hes going to eat all the other fish. Im feeding him 4 mussels and a cockle a day (enough?). I spoke to a fish keeper and he said the same happend to him, he tried keeping all sorts of fish but the MBU wasnt having any of it and killed them all but he was told to put another MBU in the tank the same size and try that in with him and it worked!, he said it worked becouse MBUs never attack each other unless there in heat ???.
HELP!!!
 
There are 2 reasons for the kills. Firstly, and the main reason, slow moving bottom dwellers will always get eaten by sub adult mbu's. Trust me, I've been there with a huge polypterus and cat collection. Mbu's are curious and investigate things with their teeth so unprotected animals such as polypterus and your Tigrinus will sustain serious damage from even a nip by a mbu's powerful jaws. The bite will almost always be at the head or tail of the victim. It is just curiosity as they are not vicious killers like some people falsely report and also the "personality" theory is rubbish. If you keep slow moving bottom dwellers without protective armour then you are asking for trouble. No way will your mbu ever eat a mid water fish, unless that fish happens to sleep on the floor and could be mistaken for food.

2ndly, the Mbu needs a bigger tank to avoid crossing the path of such fish and for it's long term care.
 
But the thing is he has been fne with the fire eel, barracudas and spotted puffer but as soon as i put the new fish in he eat them within the hour ? (maybe he thought they were food?)
But the weird thing is all the original fish are fine.?
 
Why would he be aggresive when he got loads of food and a tank he can easily swim around in with no problems ?? (big enough for the moment)
 
Its not acting aggressive its just what they do. Slow moving fish will get bit. I even had a cichlid get bit almost in half because he got in the way during feeding time. Amazing fish you just have to limit tankmates.
 
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