No Success In Creating A Peaceful Community (fish Not Getting Along.)

Earlier, my 20 gallon tank had serious drama. It all started when the male sunburst platy was harassing the balloon molly as well as another female molly due to him being overprotective for his mate. I removed that male sunburst platy as well as an angelfish to make more space. However, the sunbursts' mate whom I decided to keep, is now taking the place as the balloon molly's bully. The balloon molly now bullies a new female platy that I threw in there to be the sunbursts' replacement. And in turn, the other female molly that was bullied is now taking out her anger on the sunbursts' mate. I thought that by removing the main culprit, everyone would be peaceful, but instead they are all turning against each other. There is also a single male guppy harassing all the female platies and mollies he can find. Ironic because platies and mollies and guppies are considered some of the most common "COMMUNITY" fish.

If I'm going to re select and remove tank mates, where do I start?

 

I think so......How big is the tank

 

How many of each do you have, and what sex are they?

They can be community fish, and harassment is common, but an inappropriate male to female ratio will increase the harassment.

 

How many of each do you have, and what sex are they?

They can be community fish, and harassment is common, but an inappropriate male to female ratio will increase the harassment.

I have 2 female platies, 1 male molly and 1 female, (there is a second female who is quarantined for possible ich.) and 1 male guppy.

I used to have one male platy and one female, but I removed the male, kept the female, and added another female platy. I plan on adding the second female molly to the tank when she recovers in order to give the male balloon 2 females

 

Is the harassment causing any fish to become sick or weak?
Are the fish harassing them 24/7?

 

No sickness or lethargy. The harassment was pretty constant though.

 

That's what you really should expect in the livebearers you have. The males will always be looking to breed with females, and the females will always be avoiding the males. As long as the harassment is not causing anyone to hide all the time or be really weak, it should be okay.

 

how big is your tank though

If you have them in anything less than a 20 long they will fight too

 

how big is your tank though

If you have them in anything less than a 20 long they will fight too

Please read the first sentence in OP's post.

Earlier, my 20 gallon tank had serious drama.

 

You could create more hiding spots with decor and or plants. I think with the 20 gallon, you might be somewhat limited because there isn't sufficient space for the fish to hide but given what you have to work with, I don't think you are over stocked, it may just be the type of fish and the instinct to breed/chase each other. Try breaking up the line of sight and hopefully that will ease the chasing, etc. but they are livebearers that do that.

 

I have 4 caves made out of sandstone as hiding spots.

 

I just recently got back into the whole fish thing again after a long break and had some concerns about fish harassing each other but I haven't seen any issues with my community.

I started off with the common community fish (tetras, guppies, etc...) then I slowly started to add the more "aggressive" fish over time like the tiger barbs, Angel fish, gouramis. My tank is a 39g and has quite a few plants in it that I'm sure help a lot but everyone gets a long and when they get sick of each other they go to their favorite spots and hang out with the shrimp for a bit lol.

One lady at the pet store told me as long as the fish in the tank have established their favorite spots it is ok to add more aggressive ones but keep an eye on them for a while. Just don't buy a whole bunch of fish and put them in at the same time or they will fight for territory.

 

Live bearers should be at least 3 females to each male. Any less than that and you will have females that are run to exhaustion. A male live bearer will not have a "mate" and will go after any fish it thinks it can mate with, and it does not mater to them if it is not a live bearer.

 

One lady at the pet store told me as long as the fish in the tank have established their favorite spots it is ok to add more aggressive ones but keep an eye on them for a while. Just don't buy a whole bunch of fish and put them in at the same time or they will fight for territory.

The lady at the pet store got it dead wrong. If you add new fish to a well established aquarium with any territorial fish the first fish will tear into the new fish. If you did a fishless cycle and the BB is at a point it should be add all the fish at once. If you are going to add new fish to an established aquarium then you need to rearrange the aquascape right before you add them so there is no established territory.

 

The lady at the pet store got it dead wrong. If you add new fish to a well established aquarium with any territorial fish the first fish will tear into the new fish. If you did a fishless cycle and the BB is at a point it should be add all the fish at once. If you are going to add new fish to an established aquarium them you need to rearrange the aquascape right before you add them so there is no established territory.

Yeah that sounds way better than what she said, although her theory did work for me I imagine it isn't ideal nor a regular occurrence. I'm still re-learning everything again and had a little faith in the "professional". Thanks for clearing up my mistake! It does seem like whatever fish I add they just go off and mind their own business, must be luck I guess!

 

Yeah that sounds way better than what she said, although her theory did work for me I imagine it isn't ideal nor a regular occurrence. I'm still re-learning everything again and had a little faith in the "professional". Thanks for clearing up my mistake! It does seem like whatever fish I add they just go off and mind their own business, must be luck I guess!

Sounds like you have a happy aquarium

There is an old adage "if it works for you, keep doing it" there are far too many variables to speak in absolutes (though I guess I did in the last post *blush*)

 

I have 4 caves made out of sandstone as hiding spots.

Caves are not a natural hiding places for most fish (plecos yes, loaches, snails sure), you'll need some taller line-of-sight breaks so the fish can hide from view from the others, tall fake plants, live plants or even taller decor like driftwood.

 

Good news. So most of the bullying mentioned has toned down. Maybe it was just a pecking order at place.

 

Glad to hear that!