Bullying or Establishing Dominance??

Aaron Soliz

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Im glad to hear that this worked and IMO this was a good choice because of the damage. However IME it is not always the best first option - a breeder net or an acclimation box sometimes works and other times it resets the dominance process from the beginning when the fish are reintroduced. If there is no body damage then rearranging the aquascaping and adding additional hiding places are other options.
Correct, I have a feeling if I didn’t take this route... i would have lost a pricey fish and one I am attached to already. If there was no damage i would have let it be. I think she may have learned his lesson in jail lol.
 
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JoshO

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So the bullying only got worse today and I noticed a few tears on the ventral and anal fins so I've been and bought a breeder net to separate them. Within an hour the victim fish has gained so much more colour and seems happier
 

Aaron Soliz

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So the bullying only got worse today and I noticed a few tears on the ventral and anal fins so I've been and bought a breeder net to separate them. Within an hour the victim fish has gained so much more colour and seems happier
The power of a breeder net. Give it 3 days. They will be back to normal. Mine is amazing since then but def keeping an eye.
 

Aaron Soliz

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Did you keep it in the net for 3 days?
I did, yes. The bigger one.
Since then, my bigger one messes with the smaller one but I can tell from the past few days, she hasn’t damaged him as much as she did this past Friday. The smaller one is actually healing very fast.
 
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JoshO

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I did, yes. The bigger one.
Since then, my bigger one messes with the smaller one but I can tell from the past few days, she hasn’t damaged him as much as she did this past Friday. The smaller one is actually healing very fast.
I'm probably going to leave it in there overnight, let it out lunch time tomorrow after they've both had their morning feed. If it resumes then he/she will be back in the net
 
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JoshO

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UPDATE!
So the bully fish (not calling either male or female yet as I'm not sure if it's been decided!) was released midday today (UK time) and unfortunately the harassing continued and worsened. I've rescaped and it had no effect.
BUT THEN!! I've been using ambient daylight and room lighting to provide light to the QT but my girlfriend kept switching the light off by accident SO I've placed the light for my future DT over the top and pretty much instantly the chasing stopped!!
It's been on over an hour now and both fish are calm and swimming together! There is the occasional nip or small chase but the victim immediately shakes and the calm resumes!
 

Aaron Soliz

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Glad to hear all is okay so far. Mine has calmed down as well. At this point, we can’t say we didn’t try anything. We just have to let it take its course of action but luckily the route seems promising as no damages have been done since introducing the bigger one back into the tank.
 

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For the most part they're okay

Glad to hear all is okay so far.


giphy.gif


;Happy
 
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JoshO

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So unfortunately we are back where we started, actually probably further away than we were.
I'm going to leave them tonight but tomorrow likely going to separate them again. Pictures below are the current condition of the victim, there is one where the bully is in the frame too which shows the stark difference in colouration.
IMG_20200308_181423.jpg
IMG_20200308_181429.jpg
IMG_20200308_181436.jpg
IMG_20200308_181541.jpg

Any ideas would be great!
 

GoVols

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Well,
over the long haul:

You might need to take one or the other back to your lfs, or try another pair.
 
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JoshO

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Well,
over the long haul:

You might need to take one or the other back to your lfs, or try another pair.
This is ultimately what I'm thinking, but realistically it's the last resort. I'm going to do a few days in isolation and see what difference that makes, if we are no further forward by Friday then I'll be seeing if the lfs will swap!
 

Aaron Soliz

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So unfortunately we are back where we started, actually probably further away than we were.
I'm going to leave them tonight but tomorrow likely going to separate them again. Pictures below are the current condition of the victim, there is one where the bully is in the frame too which shows the stark difference in colouration.
IMG_20200308_181423.jpg
IMG_20200308_181429.jpg
IMG_20200308_181436.jpg
IMG_20200308_181541.jpg

Any ideas would be great!

well shoot bud. You left the bigger one in the breeder net for 1 day? Try 3-5 days. I left mine in the net for 3 days straight. I think this should be the last try before taking one of the other back :(
 
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JoshO

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well shoot bud. You left the bigger one in the breeder net for 1 day? Try 3-5 days. I left mine in the net for 3 days straight. I think this should be the last try before taking one of the other back :(
Yeah, I had debated the 3 like yourself but thought it was worth a shot!
 

Aaron Soliz

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Yeah, I had debated the 3 like yourself but thought it was worth a shot!
Correct go ahead and keep the “female” in the basket for a longer time. I think what helped was that the bigger one didn’t have an area were she always was around.
 

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