awl77

I have a 22 Gallon Tank with the following fish:

1 Rainbow Shark
1 pleco
3 neons
3 tetras (not sure which, purpul-ish stripe)
2 Dwarf gouramis
2 Ghost Shrimp (small)

When I got the fish, the guoramis would fight sometimes but no real big problems. Recently the rainbow shark has started to be really aggressive. Recently I noticed that he was nipping one of the guoramis under his dorsal fin to the point that he is missing scales. I have the shark in quarantine for now and will try to rearrange the tank.
-The guorami is a similar color to the the sharks fins.
-The tank has plenty of hiding space.
-The shark has a cave but will even swim up to near the top to attack the guorami.

Any other suggestions, ideas out there?

susitna-flower

HI AWL, WELCOME TO FISHLORE!

What kind of pleco do you have? The reason I ask is that it sounds like your tank is overcrowded, this would add to any stocking problems with a Rainbow shark. Even though the pleco isn't the problem in this particular fight, if it is a common, it could be exchanged for a bristlenose, and that would relieve SOME of the tension in the tank.

They usually will only be aggressive with other fish of similar shape....but it sounds like it is having territory problems. You could try a bigger tank, with lots of rocks, caves and driftwood to break up the line of sight which would probably eliminate this problem.

awl77

Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure what kind of pleco I have. The person at the shop said he shouldn't get too big.
I took out the rainbow, rearranged the tank, and put him back and that worked for a while but he is eating at the gourami again. Now the gourami is acting weird too. The guorami is going right over to him and letting him nip at the "wound" without doing anything. I finally took out the guorami with the wound and put him in quarantine. What is going on with this guorami?

goggles

depends on the shark but they do get more aggressive the larger they get, how big is he now? they get to around 7"

Shawnie

IMO its a territorial issue...for those two fish, 22 gallons isnt enough ....I have one in a 55 gallon with 3 dg's and they are all fine..he stays in his corner hut until feeding time ...I hope your gourami gets better

Wilhelm Joshua Tan

RANBOWS ARE TERRITORIAL AND SCARE AWAY BIGGER FISH.
LOOK AT http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...8140357AAGa9na