Welcome to my 3000th post!
So I thought I'd make it a good one.
This is my texas cichlid. He has a very inflated opinion of himself, and decided he would force that opinion on the other fish in the tank. There were a few scuffles, but it was mostly posturing so I didn't have a problem with it.
After he had worked his way up the tough guy ladder and taken control, things were peaceful for a while. The other fish made way for him, gave him the most desirable hides, and let him take his pick of the floating pellets.
Then he starting getting very diva about the whole thing and I started seeing shredded fins and gouges in his tankmates from their running into deco while escaping his displeasure.
I decided it was time to show him that even though he may be toughness personified in the tank, there are still rules in this house.
I began leaving the canopy open and the glass tops slightly open, and brought in my weapon of terror.
A bamboo stake!
His tell was puffing gills, so whenever he'd puff, I'd jump. I never actually had to poke him, the threat implied by the jabbing stake from above was enough to send him bolting for cover. I had a hectic 4 days with all that jumping off the couch and racing across the room to poke around in the tank.
But it worked.
After the second day the other fish realized that the poke was never intended for them and would hold their ground until the wooden rod of justice would spear down from the sky to smite down this hemorrhoid of a fish.
He wasn't totally cured of his attitude for about another week, but by the end of the fourth day all I needed to do was wave the bamboo or pretend like I was getting off the couch for him to unflare and back down. It's surprising the dirty looks you can get from a fish when you ruin their fun.
Now, most of the time he'll play nice. He's still a cichlid with an attitude, and still runs the tank, but I haven't seen a shredded fin or gouge in 6+ months. He's even started gill puffing and occasionally chasing the others without resorting to actual violence.
There'll always be a special place in my stand for that bamboo stake, just in case...
anyone else train their fish to behave? I'm still trying to figure out how to train them not to throw all that water out of the tank when I feed them.
So I thought I'd make it a good one.
This is my texas cichlid. He has a very inflated opinion of himself, and decided he would force that opinion on the other fish in the tank. There were a few scuffles, but it was mostly posturing so I didn't have a problem with it.
After he had worked his way up the tough guy ladder and taken control, things were peaceful for a while. The other fish made way for him, gave him the most desirable hides, and let him take his pick of the floating pellets.
Then he starting getting very diva about the whole thing and I started seeing shredded fins and gouges in his tankmates from their running into deco while escaping his displeasure.
I decided it was time to show him that even though he may be toughness personified in the tank, there are still rules in this house.
I began leaving the canopy open and the glass tops slightly open, and brought in my weapon of terror.
A bamboo stake!
His tell was puffing gills, so whenever he'd puff, I'd jump. I never actually had to poke him, the threat implied by the jabbing stake from above was enough to send him bolting for cover. I had a hectic 4 days with all that jumping off the couch and racing across the room to poke around in the tank.
But it worked.
After the second day the other fish realized that the poke was never intended for them and would hold their ground until the wooden rod of justice would spear down from the sky to smite down this hemorrhoid of a fish.
He wasn't totally cured of his attitude for about another week, but by the end of the fourth day all I needed to do was wave the bamboo or pretend like I was getting off the couch for him to unflare and back down. It's surprising the dirty looks you can get from a fish when you ruin their fun.
Now, most of the time he'll play nice. He's still a cichlid with an attitude, and still runs the tank, but I haven't seen a shredded fin or gouge in 6+ months. He's even started gill puffing and occasionally chasing the others without resorting to actual violence.
There'll always be a special place in my stand for that bamboo stake, just in case...
anyone else train their fish to behave? I'm still trying to figure out how to train them not to throw all that water out of the tank when I feed them.
