I dislike bullies

[Loveme4]

I dislike bullies I have a 55 gallon tank that start with three sets of tetras three Daniels well actually four because I have a small zebra Danielle also and three Australian rainbow fish there was only one Australian rainbow fish and I didn’t want him to feel left out because the rest of the fish were in schools of at least four but every since I’ve put the new rainbow fish In One of the rainbow fish which I think was the one I have first has been attacking both of the new ones and chasing them around the tank and attacking everyone else in the tank I don’t know what’s wrong with him but he’s going to get punished in a net on the side of the tank if you don’t stop please help me!

 

[AmyKieran]

I dislike bullies I have a 55 gallon tank that start with three sets of tetras three Daniels well actually four because I have a small zebra Danielle also and three Australian rainbow fish there was only one Australian rainbow fish and I didn’t want him to feel left out because the rest of the fish were in schools of at least four but every since I’ve put the new rainbow fish In One of the rainbow fish which I think was the one I have first has been attacking both of the new ones and chasing them around the tank and attacking everyone else in the tank I don’t know what’s wrong with him but he’s going to get punished in a net on the side of the tank if you don’t stop please help me!

He will likely be asserting dominance over the other fish in the tank, if you remove it then you may find that another fish will assume this role. To add to this fish are altogether territorial and he will chase others if they go into ‘his territory’. If the other fish aren’t showing any signs of damage then I would leave it. What do you feed and how much? Just feeding is a good way to calm aggression.

Ps. ‘Punishing’ a fish on the side of a tank with a new Will probably be futile, it’s not that intelligent

 

[DoubleDutch]

A There are several circumstances in which fish show "agressive" behaviour.
B What we call agressive behaviour often is completely natural behaviour
C Fish don't simply bully other fish cause they like to do so.
D We ourselves provide the circumstances in which fish show frustration. Think about a too small school, the wrong m/f ratio, no hiding places, too small tank, too high light etc etc....
E Punishing fish by isolation or so is a ridiculous idea.

Realise what is causing this and provide them with the right circumstances.
The only agression then might be matingbehaviour (even this could be a part here).

 

[AmyKieran]

A There are several circumstances in which fish show "agressive" behaviour.
B What we call agressive behaviour often is completely natural behaviour
C Fish don't simply bully other fish cause they like to do so.
D We ourselves provide the circumstances in which fish show frustration. Think about a too small school, the wrong m/f ratio, no hiding places, too small tank, too high light etc etc....
E Punishing fish by isolation or so is a ridiculous idea.

Realise what is causing this and provide them with the right circumstances.
The only agression then might be matingbehaviour (even this could be a part here).

Very good advice here, you need to look at what your doing and illustrate the problem. Punishing the fish will be pointless. Write up a full tank setup or even attach photos and feeding regimes etc and we can help.

 

[GaryE]

This is cruel, but the situation isn't bullying - it's on the aquarist and not the fish. We all make mistakes when we're new, and only we can fix them.
If your rainbow is male, then he owned the tank in his mind. If you added males then he's scared - he sees these guys showing up out of nowhere to take over his space, and he's bound to freak out and defend. What species are the rainbows in question? Are they all the same, or are there size differences?

As well, when it comes to human bullying, being number three is a dangerous role. It's no different with fish - the 3rd wheel is always a good target for the two dominant fish. Four or more is the best rule.

In the wild, challenged fish swim away and find their own space. The glass walls make that impossible, so you have to adjust. Putting a fish in a net is unnecessary cruelty, made especially so because it won't work.

 

[Essjay]

Experiments have been done recently with shoaling fish and these show that when there are less than 10 of a species of shoaling fish, there is a tendency to aggressive behaviour. That's 10 of each species, not a group of 10 mixed species. The fewer the are, the more aggressive the behaviour is.