Aggressive Scat

[jtipton]

I have had a small scat for a few months now. He is either a Ruby Scat or Striped Scat. It will be much easier to tell as he grows. He has dark vertical band of black and white, with a red stripe down his dorsal side. Yesterday I bought a slightly larger Green Scat to share my 55 gallon tank with him. The Green Scat has been very aggressive, pursuing the small juvenile and nipping at him. The younger scat has lost some of his color and is turning pale. His dark stripes now look more like a series of spots as his color is changing. I suspect this is due to stress. I thought these guys were schooling fish, and have been surprised by the aggression thus far. Do I need more than 2 to share the beating? I am hesitant to buy more if they will only get beat up. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jtipton]

One additional piece of information...

The Green Scat is much more aggressive after feeding time. I will try to increase the amount of food, but so far he is not accepting flake, just live brine.

 

[jtipton]

He is still refusing flake food and shrimp pellets. This is the stangest scat I have ever seen He is also becoming increasingly aggressive at feeding time. I am returning him to the store tomorrow before he kills my other scat. His color is even more pale, and he swims on a tilt when the green scat nears. The store is going to let me trade the trouble maker for a smaller green scat. Hopefully that will help. Any thoughts?

 

[el_vulture619]

The aggression is probably because they are a different species of scat. I say dont buy another green scat and get the same kind as the first one you bought if you want another one.

They may look the same, but they can tell the difference between themselves. Gang Fights!!

 

[Colin_T]

Scats normally occur in schools consisting of similar sized fish. Bigger fish will always bully smaller ones. You can usually keep red & green scats together as long as they are similar size.
If you have more of them any aggression will be spread out over all the individuals and less problems occur.

 

[jtipton]

I took him back and will get similarly sized scats in the future. I decided to get an archer instead. He is a very cool fish, and is getting along well with his tank mates. Thanks for the help.