Fin Nipping, Please Help

[jamesmacc]

hi folks, im gutted to say i spotted some foul play a few days ago, a couple of my sp44's and a couple other fish have had there fins nipped, one of the sp44's was quite bad and had a damaged dorsal fin so i spent 40 mins stalking it trying to catch it and put it in the hospital tank, its alot smaller than the other so i guess its not feeding much. one of my jacobs has a split in its tail, is that likely to be from a nip? i have a feeling its one of my ndumbi red tops, he chases other fish around the tank but i thought it was just for fun and wasnt any harm being done as usualy they give him a chase in return. lately the red tops have been playing in the rock work alot were i cant keep an eye on them, then last night 2 of my sp44's come out for food with damaged fins.
i have cut feeding down from 2 times a day to 1 to try make them hungry to cut aggresion as they should be on the hunt for food, im not convinced that its worked. i read online that feeding them 4 times a day will cut aggresion, will that not fill them up and cause them to get aggresive because they are bored because they are full.
im realy annoyed that the tank has problems, i spent so much time and effort getting the fish to the isle of skye from south england so its not like i can return them, i will have to set up another tank for the affender.
any advise or tips would be great

 

[a.wagg]

The issue is that you have victorians and malawi's in the same tank. Usually this will cause issues with agression, especially with the more dominant species such as Sp. 44 and such. You also have multiple species of Alunocara in your tank (Peacocks) which is HIGHLY discouraged because of aggression AND hybridization.

 

[jamesmacc]

The issue is that you have victorians and malawi's in the same tank. Usually this will cause issues with agression, especially with the more dominant species such as Sp. 44 and such. You also have multiple species of Alunocara in your tank (Peacocks) which is HIGHLY discouraged because of aggression AND hybridization.

the sp44's dont seem to be involved in any of the aggresion though. i have quite a few auloncaras but quite a few people run tanks like that, last night the agression seemed to end, i wonder if it could be mating? they are know longer chasing each other around

 

[rifty]

aulonocara are notorious at nipping and starting and stopping very quickly and for no reason sometimes but pecking order breeding or just wanting a bigger share of the space in the tank could all be factors.
you are right lots of people run tanks like yours no issues but each fish cannot be measured against someone elses setup so anything could happen.
a.wagg was pretty tough with the feedback but i must agree keeping multiple groups of aulonocara will cause you issues of cross breeding then your left with naff fish nobody wants! and the inclusion of females will imo be the most common cause of what you are seeing.

 

[jamesmacc]

aulonocara are notorious at nipping and starting and stopping very quickly and for no reason sometimes but pecking order breeding or just wanting a bigger share of the space in the tank could all be factors.
you are right lots of people run tanks like yours no issues but each fish cannot be measured against someone elses setup so anything could happen.
a.wagg was pretty tough with the feedback but i must agree keeping multiple groups of aulonocara will cause you issues of cross breeding then your left with naff fish nobody wants! and the inclusion of females will imo be the most common cause of what you are seeing.

thanks for your tips. if they do cross breed i will just keep the young myself, i know people wont want mixed breeds than havent got nice colours but i would be pleased that they are happy enough to breed so i would like to keep their young and watch them grow. the main auloncara that causes trouble is my firefish ice

 

[blagger]

Hey James

Sorry to hear things ain't running smoothly. When I first added my first lot of fish one of the Cyno Afra had half his tail bitten off, however 3 weeks later it has fully grown back. There hasn't been any serious aggression, you always get the odd chase but nothing ripping the other to bits.

I'm not an expert on mixed fish so can't really say much there. I now have 27 fish in total, list below.

I've also been lucky enough to have two holding females now, been about 4 weeks now so I am impressed. Even witnessed one pair at it, dirty beggars

I've gone all Mbuna:

4 x Metriaclima Estherae - Minos Reef - 3m/1f
3 x Cynotilapia Afra - Minos Reef - 2m/1f (I think)
3 x Cynotilapia sp. Hara - Gallireya Reef - 3m (I think)
3 x Labidochromis caeruleus (White Lab) - Nkhata Bay - no idea on sex
3 x Labidochromis sp. "Mbamba" - Mbamba Bay - 2m/1f (I think)
3 x Pseudotropheus Flavus - 2m/1f (I think)
6 x Pseudotropheus Saulosi - 2m/4f
2 x BN

Have a higher male to female on most, read so much about it not supposed to work but mine seems to be ok (so far)

As for cross breeding, you can't stop it, I would just let them spit in the main tank so the others eat the fry. Of course if you know there hasn't been cross breeding you can chuck them in a tank.

 

[jamesmacc]

Hey James

Sorry to hear things ain't running smoothly. When I first added my first lot of fish one of the Cyno Afra had half his tail bitten off, however 3 weeks later it has fully grown back. There hasn't been any serious aggression, you always get the odd chase but nothing ripping the other to bits.

I'm not an expert on mixed fish so can't really say much there. I now have 27 fish in total, list below.

I've also been lucky enough to have two holding females now, been about 4 weeks now so I am impressed. Even witnessed one pair at it, dirty beggars

I've gone all Mbuna:

4 x Metriaclima Estherae - Minos Reef - 3m/1f
3 x Cynotilapia Afra - Minos Reef - 2m/1f (I think)
3 x Cynotilapia sp. Hara - Gallireya Reef - 3m (I think)
3 x Labidochromis caeruleus (White Lab) - Nkhata Bay - no idea on sex
3 x Labidochromis sp. "Mbamba" - Mbamba Bay - 2m/1f (I think)
3 x Pseudotropheus Flavus - 2m/1f (I think)
6 x Pseudotropheus Saulosi - 2m/4f
2 x BN

Have a higher male to female on most, read so much about it not supposed to work but mine seems to be ok (so far)

As for cross breeding, you can't stop it, I would just let them spit in the main tank so the others eat the fry. Of course if you know there hasn't been cross breeding you can chuck them in a tank.

glad your getting on well mate, fancy sharing a photo. woudl love to see how the tank looks now its stocked

 

[blagger]

Thanks James. Just done this for you: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/384406-blaggers-330l-tank-pic-heavy/