Rainbowfish males fighting

Any rainbowfish experts/knowledgeable keepers in the group?
I have been keeping rainbows for a little while now but have never seen behavior like this…. I just added 4 millenniums to my 125gal yesterday and today my dominant bosemani male and the bigger millennium male I just got are going at it non stop like this. And it has also caused the same dominant bosemani male to pick on my other bosemani male to the point where he stays in the bottom corner of the tank now and his fins are all torn up. But from what I’ve read as long as there are the same amount of females to males this type of aggression shouldn’t be happening…. I have 2 males and 2 females of both the bosemani and millennium. I am thinking about removing the dominant male bosemani and putting him in my hospital tank for a week or so as he seems to be the only instigator? I am worried he will end up killing my other bosemani male and possibly the new millennium male too! Anyone have experience on this situation?

 

Hi there. Welcome to the world of rainbowfish.

Rainbowfish can be quite energetic and boisterous in the morning and tend to calm down in the afternoon. Some rainbowfish can be absolute psychopaths whilst other individuals are more peaceful and easy-going. Not every one will act the same unfortunately.

I actually have a lone red rainbow with my other rainbows. I’m planning on rehoming him eventually and stocking up on the others. He’s an idiot in the morning, but is completely peaceful after 2pm.

Giving fish “time out” doesn’t help. They’ll resume their behaviour when they join the main tank again. The only real effect time out has on fish is stressing them out while they’re separated and discombobulating them.

Typically, a male to female ratio of 1:3 is best for fish as it gives them a harem.

125 gallons is great for rainbows and you could definitely still stock up on them, however even in tanks of thousands of gallons, they will utilise all of the space. Very active open-water fish.

 

Hi there. Welcome to the world of rainbowfish.

Rainbowfish can be quite energetic and boisterous in the morning and tend to calm down in the afternoon. Some rainbowfish can be absolute psychopaths whilst other individuals are more peaceful and easy-going. Not every one will act the same unfortunately.

I actually have a lone red rainbow with my other rainbows. I’m planning on rehoming him eventually and stocking up on the others. He’s an idiot in the morning, but is completely peaceful after 2pm.

Giving fish “time out” doesn’t help. They’ll resume their behaviour when they join the main tank again. The only real effect time out has on fish is stressing them out while they’re separated and discombobulating them.

Typically, a male to female ratio of 1:3 is best for fish as it gives them a harem.

125 gallons is great for rainbows and you could definitely still stock up on them, however even in tanks of thousands of gallons, they will utilise all of the space. Very active open-water fish.

So do you think my best course of action would be to just re-home and give my aggressive bosemani back to the pet store then?

 

That’s what I would do. I’d then stock up on other conspecifics. There’s not a way to get him to behave.

 

GlennO keeps a lot I believe.

 

@glennkeeps a lot I believe.

I think you got the tag wrong.

 

I think you got the tag wrong.

That’s what I would do. I’d then stock up on other conspecifics. There’s not a way to get him to behave.

Sorry I’m not sure what you mean by stock up on more conspecifics?

 

Conspecific = member of the same species.

By stocking up on conspecifics, you’re adding in more of the same species of fish you currently have.

 

It's been my experience that the bully fish of any species I've kept has usually been the best fish, both in beauty and health.
You have a spacious tank, which looks to be sparsely stocked.
I know Rainbow fish are pricey, but adding six or seven more of each species of Rainbows will likely lessen the aggression.
When I kept Rainbows, there were many more males than females.
Most of the aggression occurred In the morning hours as the males chased the females. Things eventually settled down by early afternoon.

 

It's been my experience that the bully fish of any species I've kept has usually been the best fish, both in beauty and health.
You have a spacious tank, which looks to be sparsely stocked.
I know Rainbow fish are pricey, but adding six or seven more of each species of Rainbows will likely lessen the aggression.
When I kept Rainbows, there were many more males than females.
Most of the aggression occurred In the morning hours as the males chased the females. Things eventually settled down by early afternoon.

How many more rainbows could I add? This is the full list of what is in the tank currently:
3 angelfish
4 millennium rainbows
4 bosemani rainbows
4 turquoise rainbows
6 harlequin rasboras
3 super red plecos
6 otocinclis
6 panda corydoras
2 bamboo shrimp
I feel as though my tank is pretty well stocked as is, but maybe I could add more? I do run a Fluval FX6 and a large sun sun canister filter with the UV light.

How many more rainbows could I add? This is the full list of what is in the tank currently:
3 angelfish
4 millennium rainbows
4 bosemani rainbows
4 turquoise rainbows
6 harlequin rasboras
3 super red plecos
6 otocinclis
6 panda corydoras
2 bamboo shrimp
I feel as though my tank is pretty well stocked as is, but maybe I could add more? I do run a Fluval FX6 and a large sun sun canister filter with the UV light.

All of the rainbows are 2 males 2 females of each species.

 

New additions can disrupt the pecking order. It sounds like the dominant male is trying to maintain dominance in the presence of the new additions. He will eventually lose out since Reds grow bigger. Since you only added them yesterday I would wait a little longer and see if things settle down a bit. Otherwise I think you have room for at least another pair of Boesemani which might help to diffuse the aggression. The tank looks a little sparse, you could consider adding more cover in the form of more tall or floating plants which might help to make the subdominant fish feel more secure. Rainbowfish are boisterous by nature and can handle quite a bit of this behaviour. Nevertheless, in the wild they would just swim off when it got too much but when they are trapped in a tank anything you can do to minimise stress is beneficial.

 

IMO, you're way under stocked. My 120 gal. Currently has 75 fish, Filament Barbs, Tiger Barbs, Altus Tinfoil Barbs, Columbian Tetras, Diamond Tetras, Buenos Aires Tetras, YoYo Loaches, Red Tail Loaches & a Tiger Loach.
My filtration is only 2x converted Marineland Emperor 400's. The tank is healthy & been up & running nine years.
I'd say you could easily add one or two of each Rainbow species.
Here's a pic of my 120. Even with all those fish it looks pretty empty. Too many rocks. Lol. You have an XL filtration system. No need to be hesitant upping the Rainbow group.

 

My only concern with adding lots more rainbowfish is the presence of Angelfish. I've never kept them together but it seems to me that their activity levels are very different. I'm not sure how the more sedate Angels would be affected by all that activity.

 

My angelfish have been in with the rainbows since they were juveniles, and don’t mind the rainbows at all.
**update**
I did end up removing the dominant bosemani last night, and put him in a hospital tank I have set up because he was still going after the new millennium male, and my other bosemani looks very bad. This morning all my fish are swimming around happily, even the other rough looking bosemani. There seems to be no issues now that I removed the dominant bosemani male. Unfortunately, I think I will be returning him to my local pet store today, and will probably try to pick up some smaller bosemani to add to my group.