aggressive barbs

[moodymatt]

i have 5 strawberry barbs in a 60 gl tank and up till recently they were fine ,however lately there has become some aggression amonst the group .i have noticed that 2 of the barbs have slightly swollen bellies (been like this for some months)and it is these two that are being picked on by the other 3,so do i need too separate them or is it some male /female thing .......thanks

 

[redbelly]

Their bellies have been swollen for a couple months? Could they just be getting fat? Maybe try adding a few more barbs to the school. This often times curbs or even eliminates aggression. I don't know anything about strawberry barbs, but if they are anything like my tiger barbs, they do like to fight amongst themselves. A larger school will help spread the aggression out over a larger number of fish rather than just targeted towards one or two. And fighting in schools is common and normal, usually just rearranging the pecking order.