how do i stop a bully?

miagrrl

i have one fish (i've had him for 6 months now- without any bully-issues), who has suddenly decided that the entire left side of the tank is exclusively his.
he has recently begun patrolling that area, and chasing anyone away who invades his "personal space". he is a Tiger Barb, and he is the largest one in my tank. the tank has 8 tiger barbs, three zebra danios, and two yoyo loaches. really, this is a new behavior, cause for 6 months now they have all gotten along nicely. is there anything i can do to stop him from turning hostile?

cullens089

what kind of fish is it?

willow

hi
personally i would have a little change around.
maybe move the decor,just to throw him off a little.
i have done this in the past,and it worked.
hth a bit. :)

Neonesf

Try rearranging the deco in your tank. This breaks up any territories that have been established, and usually cuts down on the bullying in the tank. didn't mean to step on your toes willow, we must have been posting at the same time

willow

Neonesf you didn't step on my toes at all :)
just seems one posted befor the other. :)

miagrrl

thanks for the advice, i didn't even think of that. i think it might have worked, i moved some stuff around and so far, so good.

Lupin

What size is your tank? I was under the impression you're referring to a Yoyo Loach, right? If so, two is not a sufficient number. If your tank is 55 gallons and larger, I would suggest keeping 3 as the minimum.

miagrrl

the loaches are fine, its ony of my tiger barbs. my tank is 30 gallons- the loaches are not territorial at all. and there are plenty of other tiger barbs in the tank...i moved things around and he just chose a new territory to patrol. i have 8 tigers...should i add more?

Lupin

But it appears your tiger has already dominated every of its tankmates. Any new fish will just end up bullied unless you can isolate him for awhile.

Oh, my apologies. I didn't read it was the Tiger Barb.

willow

hhmmmm i wonder if you should maybe take him back,
it looks like he his going to hinder your chances of
getting anymore,and i can't think of a way to change
his attitude,you may have a rouge fish,
i know tigers can be aggressive,but in the tank load
that i've got i have not experience this at all,
maybe i'm just lucky,as it's a very peaceful tank.