recently added 5 small rainbow fish to a tank containing 1 large rainbow fish. I have 1 small fish left. There is no evidence of illness in the introduced fish. My only explanation is that the large fish is a murderer - is this possible?
Murder tank
- Thread starter Kazzaye
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It would be unusual; rainbows are normally fairly peaceful.
What species are/were they? Have you tested the water to rule out any issues there? How big is your tank? How did you acclimatise the new fish?
It's possible that the addition of the new fish was too much for the filter to cope with, or there was a change in water parameters that was too much for them; small fish rot and get eaten very quickly in a tropical tank.
What species are/were they? Have you tested the water to rule out any issues there? How big is your tank? How did you acclimatise the new fish?
It's possible that the addition of the new fish was too much for the filter to cope with, or there was a change in water parameters that was too much for them; small fish rot and get eaten very quickly in a tropical tank.
yes depending on species and size.
big male rainbowfish can sometimes get aggressive and bully smaller males and females. And rainbowfish will eat smaller fish. So if you had a 4 inch male Glossolepis incises and put some 1 inch rainbows in the tank, he wouldn't give it a second thought before eating them.
Melanotaenia boesemani and Glossolepis incisus males are the worst offenders but any big male rainbowfish can get pushy and agro. If they are kept in groups of 6 or more and you try to keep even numbers of males, and keep the males the same size, you shouldn't have any problems because they will be evenly matched.
eg: 2 males and 4 females. The 2 males can spar with each other and if they are the same size they will be able to tolerate the push and shove they give each other. But if you have 1 big male and 1 small male, the smaller one will be bullied and dominated and not do well.
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We had a group of 2 inch long, wild caught boesemani, and put them in a 6ft tank with some 1 inch long cardinal tetras. Everything was fine for the first day then all hell broke loose. The boesemani split into 2 groups and herded the cardinals into a corner before eating them. One group of boesemani created a wall to stop the cardinals getting out of the corner and the second group swam in and ate them. We had to move the remaining cardinals to another tank.
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When we were breeding rainbows in ponds the adults did not eat their young, and after a month we had 1 inch fish with the adults. However, any new fry that hatched out after that were promptly eaten by the 1 inch siblings.
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As Fluttermoth said, what species and how big were they?
If you want to introduce new rainbowfish with your Glossolepis incisus I would suggest getting a group of 8-10 fish that are the same size as him and put them in a tank. Then after a few days add him to their tank.
If you can't get a group of adult rainbows, try to find 3 or 4 big male rainbows and maybe some big females. They don't have to be the same species just big males that are the same size or bigger than him. Then move him into a spare tank/ container for a day. Make sure you have a lid on it because they jump.
Re-arrange the tank, move the ornaments about, maybe add a few more ornaments.
Put the new fish into the tank and then add the incisus.
By rearranging the tank you are changing territories. By adding the new fish and then the male incisus, they can all be newcomers to the tank and hopefully they will settle in together.
You will need big fish tho, because big male Glossolepis incisus are probably one of, if not the worst for aggression.
and yes I reckon he ate or killed the others.
If you can't get a group of adult rainbows, try to find 3 or 4 big male rainbows and maybe some big females. They don't have to be the same species just big males that are the same size or bigger than him. Then move him into a spare tank/ container for a day. Make sure you have a lid on it because they jump.
Re-arrange the tank, move the ornaments about, maybe add a few more ornaments.
Put the new fish into the tank and then add the incisus.
By rearranging the tank you are changing territories. By adding the new fish and then the male incisus, they can all be newcomers to the tank and hopefully they will settle in together.
You will need big fish tho, because big male Glossolepis incisus are probably one of, if not the worst for aggression.
and yes I reckon he ate or killed the others.
if you can't find big rainbowfish to go with him, you could look at medium sized peaceful cichlids or large barbs. Rainbows and barbs readily display to each other and show off in a tank. Last resort is to sell him and buy a new batch of young fish and grow them up.
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