Ways to Reduce Aggression in a ]v[onster Comm

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JardiniBoy

JardiniBoy

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Oct 29, 2005
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I have a heavily stocked 200 gallon tank with a variety of predatory monsters (see below for the complete list). I'm constantly trying new ways to reduce the aggression in the tank. I thought I'd share my ideas with you guys and I'm hoping for a few new ones too.

(1) Having the monsters with other fish from a young age to try and get them "used" to being with other fish.

(2) Never using feeder fish so that they don't see fish as a source of food.

(3) Black back, bottom and one side of the tank.

(4) Adding blackwater extract

(5) Having a strong powerhead blowing across the upper level of the tank (mainly for aros)

I have only lost 2 fish in this tank in over a year. The first was an albino knife that "disappeared" after a day of being introduced ... I think it was just too small. The second was one of my clown loaches this past week. I'm thinking of moving the other 4 into my 75 until they get a bit bigger.

All comments on the above ideas and new ideas are most welcome! :D

200 gallon stock list (no flaming please)
***sizes are estimates only***
1 green asian aro (20")
1 SR asian aro (18")
1 jar (19"
1 temensis (18")
1 azul (15")
1 clown knife (16")
1 royal clown knife (15")
2 tinfoil barbs (6")
1 parrot (5")
4 clown loaches (4")
2 sun catfish (5-6")
2 upside down catfish (5")
3 plecos (4-6")
1 frontosa (8")
 
more plants. right. also hide a few hiding places like rock formations and driftwood. just pick a decent enough driftwood that wo'nt cross aro territory. might damage them.

and judging from your list, it wont hurt to play safe and get another tank. that 75 your thinking of can liberate a lot of space... your babies are'nt getting smaller. :) good kuck
 
Things to break up the line of sight will help a lot, such as plants. I think you should find another tank. I'd say that you are overstocked, and that as these fish grow, aggression levels will grow with them, resulting in more dead fish. It would be a big shame to lose any of those fish too.
 
Thanks for the advice guys!

About the plants and hiding places ... I've also read though that more hiding places could make some fish more territorial as there can be different territories in one tank. With a bare tank like mine, it's all one space of water with one fish being the alpha and all others subordinate ... no? ... any thoughts on this?

Also my filtration system uses an underflow system which needs the bottom of the tank clear to function properly. The up side is that I never have to vacuum the bottom as all the sh1t and debris gets sucked into the underflow.
 
Hiding places are mostly for territorial fish like plecos and cichlids, however if you offer enough of them there won't be much aggression. However, for the top swimmers without the break in line of sight means that the whole tank is the alpha's territory. A break in their sight will mean they don't have to look at each other constantly.
 
I would suggest a larger tank with the mixture of tankmates you already have especially if they are not playing nicely. I had a 2 inch Flowerhorn, and 2.5 inch Midas grown up together for about 2 years in a 300gal with a Black Aro, the Midas was about 13-14 inches when it killed the 10-11 inch Flowerhorn, none of the fish were fed live, large water changes each week, fed at least once a day usually two times a day. Are your Aro's getting along? I believe people usually recommend a group of around 6 Aros in one tank, usually in a very large tank. Also is the filtration you are using an undergravel filter? This might not be the best option for the size of fish you have. You might want to think of getting a larger tank or splitting the group up, you have a very likely hood as they get larger they will become more and more abusive to each other.
 
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