screamingdonkey
Fish Crazy
I had two ancistrus specimens in my main tank - they seemed to get on alright, except at feeding times when one would fend off the other with a brief charge. As a result, one grew slightly faster than the other. I started intorducing more than one item of vegetable food at the same time, so they would both get a munch. Then, one evening at feeding time, I noticed that the bigger of the two actually cornered the smaller one and seemed to 'go for' it's dorsal fin.
I watched with interest over the next few days to see what developed and then woke one morning to see the smaller one had a tear in it's dorsal fin and also it's tail. I couldn't be certain that it was the bully that did this but based on what I had witnessed a few nights earlier, I assumed this was the case. As a temporary measure, I moved the injured plec to a smaller tank to prevent any more damage and allow the fins to repair naturally in their own time.
All well and good so far, but for various reasons I can no longer keep the weaker one in the smaller tank. Also, I measured the two plecs in their respective tanks the other day and as I suspected the smaller one is now the bigger of the two (10cm as opposed to 8cm), so I'm now looking to re-introduce her (I believe both to be females, though I'm not 100%) back to the main tank.
Are there any measures/steps I can or should take before I re-introduce her?
The tank is approx 40" long, is heavily planted and has two small caves and one large piece of bogwood (which has been taken over by my loaches). I don't really want to move the bogwood, as it's a bit of a centrepiece for my tank - but I've heard that sometimes moving decor when introducing fish can help in some way.
I would appreciate if anyone could advise, as I plan to re-introduce the 2nd plec this wekend.
Thanks in advance
I watched with interest over the next few days to see what developed and then woke one morning to see the smaller one had a tear in it's dorsal fin and also it's tail. I couldn't be certain that it was the bully that did this but based on what I had witnessed a few nights earlier, I assumed this was the case. As a temporary measure, I moved the injured plec to a smaller tank to prevent any more damage and allow the fins to repair naturally in their own time.
All well and good so far, but for various reasons I can no longer keep the weaker one in the smaller tank. Also, I measured the two plecs in their respective tanks the other day and as I suspected the smaller one is now the bigger of the two (10cm as opposed to 8cm), so I'm now looking to re-introduce her (I believe both to be females, though I'm not 100%) back to the main tank.
Are there any measures/steps I can or should take before I re-introduce her?
The tank is approx 40" long, is heavily planted and has two small caves and one large piece of bogwood (which has been taken over by my loaches). I don't really want to move the bogwood, as it's a bit of a centrepiece for my tank - but I've heard that sometimes moving decor when introducing fish can help in some way.
I would appreciate if anyone could advise, as I plan to re-introduce the 2nd plec this wekend.
Thanks in advance
