Regular Member rawrxdhaz@live.co.uk Posted December 16, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2013 I introduced my black moor back in with my other goldfish yesterday after a month or so in quarantine for suspected fin rot. He seemed fine and so did the others until this afternoon. I noticed one of my other goldfish, my smallest one, has a tiny rip in the dorsal fin and 3 rips in the tail including one very long one. It looks nothing like fin rot and it happened over a few hours, so I'm sure it's torn fins instead. I've been watching him all evening, he's been mainly in the back corner of the tank . Then about an hour ago, I found that one of my other fish is chasing this small one, and one other. The other being chased now also has a rip in her tail, which has appeared within the last half hour. I've had this trouble before when I first bought this bullying fish about a year and a half ago. He started this not long after introducing him. He calmed down after a week but my fish were so tired after being chased. I'm assuming he's starting to get territorial since introducing the black moor back in. I don't know what to do because I really don't want to take him out because I've just drained my quarantine tank. But obviously I don't want my fish to get hurt either. Do you think it's best to leave them be? He doesn't do it constantly, and it's not concentrated on one fish, but is he going to cause any severe damage? He puts his nose under their tail and he pushes them so they swim like mad. He doesn't seem to be "nipping" though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Mernany Posted December 16, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2013 The nose to bottom makes me think breeding behavior but I'm no expert at all in that area! heh Maybe a video will help people advise you? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member *Amanda* Posted December 16, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2013 (edited) If it is breeding behavior it would likely be nonstop for several hours until the female has laid all her eggs, at least in my experience. If it is bullying and not breeding behavior, temporary separation might do the trick. I had a small fish who was bullying all the bigger ones (male and female) after introduction to the tank. I placed him in a colander and floated it in the tank overnight. When I took him out the next morning, he no longer had any interest in the other fish. The bullying never happened again. You may want to try this first - a mesh breeder or tank divider would also work. If it doesn't work after a few tries (assuming it is actual bullying and not breeding), permanent separation may be needed. Also, how many gallons is your tank, and how many fish do you have in it and what sizes are they? Sometimes bullying behavior can be caused by overcrowding. If not, your fish could just be trying to assert dominance/establish its place in the social hierarchy. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk Edited December 16, 2013 by *Amanda* 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member DieselPlower Posted December 16, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted December 16, 2013 Hi. Welcome to the forum. I noticed this is your first post. I see you have 6 fish. Are they all in the same tank? What size is the tank? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member rawrxdhaz@live.co.uk Posted December 17, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 17, 2013 The bullying stopped overnight. I actually think it was more breeding behaviour though after some looking into google. As I said, he did the same last year and he stopped eventually. I have a 101 litre tank and each fish is 3 1/2 to 4 inches long. They are all fancy goldfish. They've never had any trouble before apart from the first time I bought the bullying fish about a year ago, and last night. Today they're back to normal and swimming happily together. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member rawrxdhaz@live.co.uk Posted December 17, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 17, 2013 Do you measure fish to the end of their body or to their tail? I measured mine to the end of their tail. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Linzi Glitter Posted December 17, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted December 17, 2013 Glad to hear things have settled down in your tank! The Koko's stocking guidelines are 40 - 80 litres per goldfish, so it's worth considering a tank upgrade as your fish grow. If you post some pics of those fin tears the mods will be able to identify if they are serious or suggestive of parasites etc or whether they will just heal on their own 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member rawrxdhaz@live.co.uk Posted December 17, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 17, 2013 Yes at the moment I think my tank can handle them. I do 30% water change every week and I do ammonia tests very often and some other tests. I have never had a parameter problem to date, but if I did I'd know how to handle it. I care very much for my fish, so when they grow I'll definitely sort out a new tank for them. Or I could set up my quarantine tank and put some in there if I really needed to. The smaller rip in the dorsal fin has already healed, not sure if the tail rips have though. I will upload pictures tomorrow anyway. Thanks for all your help so far 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Linzi Glitter Posted December 18, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted December 18, 2013 It's awesome that you have a backup plan! 50% or greater water changes per week are ideal, when combined with good stocking levels can prevent so many problems. You just need to make sure you don't have a big difference between your tap pH and your tank pH 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member *Amanda* Posted December 18, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted December 18, 2013 Yes, for goldfish water changes of at least 50% are ideal since they produce so much waste. :-) Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member rawrxdhaz@live.co.uk Posted December 18, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 18, 2013 I'll take that into account now about the 50% water change also I do pH tests regularly, and it stays very constant in my tank. I'm not going to upload those photos about the rips because I'm away for a couple of days. But the largest rip has healed a quarter of the way already! don't worry, my fish stay at my family home so when I'm not there they feed them for me. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Linzi Glitter Posted December 18, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted December 18, 2013 Hooray for fish-friendly family! It's nice to have people to support our goldfish addictions *ahem* hobby 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member rawrxdhaz@live.co.uk Posted December 18, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 18, 2013 Haha! Such and expensive and time consuming hobby too! But they're worth it, they're so beautiful to watch! I'm always paranoid about them, I always think there's something wrong, but there hardly ever is. I wish they could tell us when there's something wrong :/ it's so difficult to diagnose them! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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