Sudden serious aggression in tank

[Suze225]

Hi,

I am new to the forums.

The aquarium with the issue is a 70 gallon tank. In the tank I have a severum about 7 inches, a nice sized blood parrot, a 2 inch oscar, and 3 black skirted tetras. (We were housing a dalmation molly in this tank as well. I believe this fish won't be with us much longer.) The molly yesterday started acting strange, swimming upside down, with no appetite. Today we came home and the severum has a scratch down his side and my daughter said the 3 cichlids were fighting among themselves and were 'eating' at the dalmation. (Not really biting, but nipping I guess.) I quickly removed the molly, but am almost positive shes on her way out.

I purchased this tank with the fish from Craigslist a few weeks ago. It finished cycling a couple of days ago. Up until today there has been very little aggression between any of the fish. But, now all 'heck' is breaking loose. All the fish are eating well, and none appear to have anything physically wrong. The blood parrot has been acting a little goofier than normal, digging holes, and moving rocks into a pile and chasing air bubbles around the tank.

(I can't tell which of the fish is the 'aggressor')

Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 40
PH 7.6
KH 80
GH 180 (we live in AZ, where the water is very hard. All the fish have been housed in conditioned tap water from the previous owner as well.

Any ideas as to what could be causing this aggression??

Thanks in advance,

Sue

 

[hoangl2y]

do you have hiding places for the smaller fish? i have gouramis, 3 tetras along with my 5' FH, and the only time the FH gets aggressive is during feeding time, otherwise all the smaller fishes stay out of its way and HOPEFULLY they dont become food =X

 

[Suze225]

I have several 'hidey' holes. The smaller fish never seem to hide, these fish seem to like to be out in the open. Our cichlids are the ones who are usually trying to hide. This aggression didn't happen at all during feeding time. I did feed them after I removed the molly. (In thoughts that they were hungry.) They all ate well.

I think the issue is between the severum and the BP. The severum is the male, and not sure about the BP. (I always the call the BP a her LOL) He had her by the lips a little bit ago, I had to move him away from her with a net. Eeks.

Geez, have to figure out 'time outs' for my fish as well as the kids. Good grief. LOL

 

[GermanRam]

Sorry but it sounds like a dangerous mix of fish.
Starting with the Severum, at adult size 11" and aggressive.
Parrot fish are man-made cross-bred fish, and a controversial one at that.
They should not be kept with aggressive fish, as they are not well equipped to compete for food or turf in the aquarium. Owners have kept them successfully in community tanks with a variety of peaceful fish. Mid sized tetras, danios, angelfish, and catfish are all good possible tank mates.
Oscars have been reported to grow to a length of 45 cm (18 in) and a mass of 1.6 kg (3.5 lb). oscars are relatively placid aquarium residents best housed with other fishes too large to be considered food items. Oscars are known to uproot plants, and move other objects in aquariums and are best maintained in volumes of 200-600 liters (52-158 gallon)s.
Keep at least five Black Skirt tetras together. Black Skirt tetras that are kept alone or in really small groups will typically become shy and much stressed. They will spend most of their time hiding and the stress can weaken their immune system and make them more prone to illness.
Black Skirt tetras are generally peaceful and can be kept in community aquariums with other peaceful fish species of similar size.
Cichlids in general will spend some time working out a pecking order. Depending on how evenly they are matched determines how badly the outcome. If there is tankmates of the peasefull sort and small, then they will get beatup at best and killed or eaten for food.
The web is a great place to look up the needs of each of your fish before you buy them and to learn more after you have them.
I do wish you and your fish the best of luck. Jay

 

[mamapuff]

I think the issue is between the severum and the BP. The severum is the male, and not sure about the BP. (I always the call the BP a her LOL) He had her by the lips a little bit ago, I had to move him away from her with a net. Eeks.

Ding Ding Ding!
I have a large male BP, 8 inches, and also just got rid of my 9 inch Green Severum. The two fought all the time, though it was happening more and more the longer they were in the tank together. The BP is very territorial and is always "nesting" (scooping sand and spitting it around the tank), running up and down the side of the tank, swimming against the water that comes from the filter etc. The BP would ram the Sev constantly when it swam by him except during feeding time, during which all got along. The sev would get pissed and try to do it back but the BP would do his (what I call) puffy dance. The BP CAN shut his mouth because only the bottom lip looks like a typical BP's.(and yes it hurts when he bites me lol) The sev learned how to clamp onto his mouth onto the BP's and not let go. I couldn't find my net the other day when it happened so a loud slap against the tank broke it up. He also would turn a bright BRIGHT orange on his belly up to his throat. Even with caves and hiding spots readily available, he chooses to dig in the open. The other guys, I have all had in the past and never had any issues with them. The oscar may get aggressive later down the line, but I doubt at two inches hes an issue.
The pic is of my BP, the smaller sevs are the most docile sweet hearts. I think its the Green thats antagonizing your BP too.

 

[johnny_d]

i have noticed when i transfer fish from one tank to another that the first couple of days is usually spent checking to see if everything is safe for them. after that is where territories are beginning to be established(going through this right now with red texas and red tiger motas). i would lean toward the severum being the aggressor now but oscars grow into serious bruisers so he is not too far behind. i have seen some people with Blood parrots and they tend to hold their own for the most part the big thing is competition for food. i hope this helps a little

 

[Suze225]

Thanks all for your input. My tank is all quiet now, thankfully. Our poor molly "Two" has made her way to fishy heaven.

I didn't put the fish together, the lady I bought them from did. I know I might have to rehome the Oscar and the tetras. I am already a bit attached to the BP and the Severum and would hate to get rid of them! I love the Oscar, he is our little puppy always so happy to see me, but I know that he will probably make minced meat out of the new fish I hope to get in the next few weeks.

I will have to do some very serious research in the additions to my tank.

Ugh, decisions decisions.

Sue

 

[Suze225]

Nice looking BP, my BP changes colors.....from pale orange, pink to dark orange depending on the day. Not too sure why though.

 

[mamapuff]

Thank you . Same with mine, the darkness of his colors change, but he always keeps his "mask" on. I didn't want to get rid of my green, but my other green, my one eyed Popeye, I have had since he was a nickel size, sideways swimming fry, and he is about 5 inches now, and so he gets to stay I was about to start moving fish around, so I needed the extra room. I almost said bye to the BP, but since I have had him for 3 years, I kinda developed a soft spot for him.