Goldfish Targeted by other fish

[Presler]

Good day everyone,

I'm a bit concerned about one of the fish in my pond. I have 2 fantails, 2 Shubunkin and 1 Commet amongst all in the pond. The one fantail seems to be chased around the pond constantly by the other 4, and the poor thing seems exhausted. It's trying to hide from the rest between the plants, but they'll force their way into it's hiding place chasing and nudging it around.

I noticed it when I got home yesterday, thought they're just playful, but it seems to have gotten worse this morning. Like a bunch of bullying kids, they all scattered and left it alone once I place my hand in the pond, but I moved away and sure enough, they started again.

I mention "it" as don't know how exactly to sex the goldfish, so no idea if this is a mating ritual. They all eat well, the fish in question is strong and swims well, no spots or other deformations, fins look good,, pond is healthy and all the other fish in the pond seems unfazed by all this, so it seems to be down to all the goldfish.

Any ideas as to what it could be?

Thanking you in advance

 

[Colin_T]

Female goldfish are fatter than males.

Male goldfish develop small white bumps on the side of their gill covers and on the edge of the pectoral (side) fins, when in breeding condition.

-------------------
You probably have 1 female and a bunch of males trying to breed with her.

--------------------
I don't recommend keeping single tail goldfish (comets & shubunkins) with double tail goldfish (fantails) because of this issue. If you get male comets, they can swim faster and drive female fantails until the female fantails die. Whereas a female comet can swim as fast as a male comet and has more ability to get away.

You can try putting a divider in the pond and have the female in one side and the males in the other side. But this behaviour will probably continue for several months so the female should be put with the males for a little bit and moved away when they get too much.

 

[GobyMaster11276]

I concur with what Colin said. In general, mixing fancy and normal (single-tailed) goldfish can be problematic, since the latter is more ‘optimised’ for survival and thus can outcompete the former for food and in other areas. For this reason, you may have some ongoing issues, even out of breeding season.

Assuming this behaviour stems from breeding, it might help if you could introduce more females (of course with quarantining and if space permits), as to spread male attention. Adding plants and other obstacles may also aid in breaking vision, thus reducing some aggression. While separating temporarily, as mentioned above, can help, goldfish are social fish and do not do well when isolated, so try experimenting to see if you can come up with a longer term solution. Of course, let us know what you find does and doesn’t work.

 

[Presler]

Thank you guys,

I moved the two Fantails to a 15Gal hospital box with pond water and a pump/airstone. My pond shape makes it difficult to place a divider. Monitored them and the copper/bronze one seemed to still chase after the red one, but not a vigorously as before. This stopped after about 3 hours and both seemed to calm down. All the other ones in the pond was way calmer then as well. When I transferred them I inspected both fish, the copper/bronze seems to have several tiny shite spots around the gills, which the red one doesn't and their vent's differ so I'm now quite sure of the sex in both of them. With all of their behavior calmed down, I reintroduced them into the pond this morning(about 8 hours ago, and the little red one moves about with all the other fish like normal.

Seems like harmony is restored for now, if the behavior rocks up again I'll see to a more permanent solution to separate them from the pond, hopefully that brings forth eggs/fry from them then too.

 

[FishGuest5123]

You are describing the mating process. Fancy tail goldfish can’t compete with single tailed in speed. That means they also get the leftovers in food. Never put the 2 types together. It’s difficult to sex goldfish but can be done. The female has a little v sticking out by her anus whereas a male is concave and goes in a little. As Colin_T mentioned, males will also get breeding tubercles during breeding season. These are white bumps on the dorsal and ventricular fin and sometimes on gill plates.