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Goldfish and koi chasing and beating other kois.

8K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  thekoimaiden 
#1 ·
Okay i've got a long story wiht a question attached to it I promise.

It has been four months now since we bought a 40 gal fish tank. We spend hours at the pet store trying to figure out what to put in our aquarium as decore. Anyways, once we got what we wanted, we noticed that there were two small kois with beautiful long tail fins, and a single fantail calaco goldfish. We also liked a few silver dollars and were debating on getting them. Anyways, we started out with two kois and a fantail goldfish.
A whitish-silver with black dots and markings koi, a silver-white, orange marking on head with black markings on back koi, and a calico colored Fantail goldfish. We also added in three albino cat fish, two Placastomus (If that is how it's spelled.) The silver with black marking koi we named Dotti. The one with the orange spot on it's head we named Greedy. The kids wanted to name the fantail Goldilocks. The large Placastomus is named Jaws. (Because the way it swims when not sucking on something looks like a shark.) and the small Placastomus Mini me. The large catfish we call Jumper (Because that's what it does when it comes up for air.) The middle one Swimmer, and the Tiny Catfish Small One.

Anyways, we have not had any problems we do a good job making sure everything is right for our fish. However, I recently noticed something different, but didn't think too much of it as it was only accuring on certain times of the day. (They were all rubbing on each other or seemed like rubbing on each other.) We decided we wanted to add in another koi to the family and settled on a red koi with a white mouth, but were surprised to find it having a fantail like the fantail goldfish (Though not as big flowing as the goldfish.) We decided to name this one Butterfly. Anyways, after we added this new fish in, I noticed that Goldilocks (The fantail goldfish) was chasing and looked like being a bully to the new arrival. Then out of nowhere Dotti (The spotted koi) started doing the same thing at being a bully. I noticed they also did this to Greedy (My other koi) but they do it more to Butterfly (New red koi.) They still do rubbing with each other exept Butterfly.

My question is, should I be worried? Should i seperate all four of them or seperate some of them or what? I read that maybe it might be spawning, but in the fall time and the temp staying in the 70's. They seem to do it more at night and in the moring. I'm not sure about during the day because i am at work. I know you guys arn't vets, but maybe some of you experienced fish parents can give some advice.

Thanks in advance.
Zan e vogel.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
You have many problems here. First off, you've got tropical fish who need higher temps than 70 degrees, in with goldfish. Also, many of your fish, will get way to big for a 40 gal tank. I don't know much about goldfish or koi, but they should not be kept with tropical fish for other reasons beside temps. Sounds like you need to return some fish or get another tank. Your tank may also be overcrowded at this point, and fish are showing aggression due to it. Catfish are sensitive fish, and lack much of a slime coat to protect them. I would worry that with the low temps you have, they are very likely to get a parasite such as Ick. Best of luck, Keep us posted.

Gwen
 
#3 ·
Oh thank you. I read that koi's don't need a warm temperature and actually having a warm temperature would signal for them that it's spawning time and i don't want to deal with frys or breeding for that matter. I read that koi's are healthier in the temperatures of 61 to 75 degrees, so my tank is okay in terms of temperatures. When the temp falls below 50 they go into a type of hybernation for winter.

i know as they get bigger I will either move them to a bigger tank, but they are good size right now and i keep an eye on their length. However, right now, and since i got up this morning, they have been good. Swiming around, eating, no bothering of each other. sooo, i don't know what is going on.
 
#4 ·
Ok, for one thing, you've said you know you need a big tank, but 3 fully grown koi need like a 2000 gallon pond. And what type of Pleco? If it's Common, even one wouldn't fit in there. Basically, it's extremely overstocked.
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#6 ·
Your goldfish will quickly grow to fill the entire tank. One 40 gal tank is only enough for those goldfish. Tropicals shouldn't be kept with goldfish under any condition. Koi should never be kept in tanks unless it is only for a short time. I have 6 koi in a 4000 gal pond. Koi get huge. Your tank is overstocked. If you only want one tank I would try to find someone who will take your other fish and decide what to keep.
 
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