Fighting fish chasing Rams

[Deano]

Ive had my fighting fish (male) for quite a while and he gets along fine with my neon tetras but today i bought 2 butterfly Rams and the fighter keeps chasing them around and nipping at them. Now the fighter wont eat any food and seems quite miserable!

Could this be incompatiblity between the Rams and the fighting fish??

 

[Inchworm]

Hello Deano and welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you do have a problem there with your new fish. Has anyone actually gotten hurt? How big is your tank? Is it planted?

It would be helpful if we could have this info, and anything else that might pertain to the problem.

 

[Deano]

Cheers for the welcome.. My tank is 50 litres and has quite a few plants (natural) but not many hiding places for the Rams. I do have a hollow log (plastic) in there but my plec seems to have made its home there. At the moment the Rams are hiding behind one of the plants and seem too nervous to come out. The more brightly coloured one seems to be more confident than the other (its as if he is protecting the other more nervous one)

Nobody has got hurt yet but the fighter doesnt seem to be very happy with them...he seems very upset and isnt acting himself.

Any ideas of what to do?

 

[dixaisy930]

Would moving the fighting fish into his own tank be an option?

 

[Deano]

ive been keeping an eye on them ova tha last 2 days and the fighting fish seems to have calmed down. He still chases them now and again but he isnt as bad as he was. The Rams are still a bit shy but they are coming around slowly which is good news.

 

[Ron]

If thsi continues, even if it is better than before, I would move the betta into his own tank. The rams will get extremely stressed after a while from being chased away behind a plant all the time from teh betta. If stressed for too long teh rams will die. Give teh betta a couple more days to calm down, if he doesn't it would be good to get him a new home for himself. He'll be less stressed as well. Good luck,
Ron

 

[Deano]

Well the good news has just turned to bad news!! One of my Rams is at the bottom of the tank and he has been there all day and wont move. His gills are beating very fast...think hes going to die. My other ram is doing fine, bought bloodworm today and he loves it!

Its a pity about the other ram tho!

Any ideas why he is motionless and his gills are beating really fast???

 

[dixaisy930]

I was say the stress of being harassed has finally taken it's toll on your poor ram.

 

[Inchworm]

If he's still alive, there is still hope for your ram, Deano. Don't give up just yet.

But, leave him in the tank and move the troublemaker out. Take some of the water from the tank and put it in a big jar or a stainless steel pot, for the time being, and give your poor ram a chance to recover or at least to die in peace.

 

[Deano]

bad news! The ram died! The good news is that the other ram seems a lot happier since that ram died. Think they were both males, maybe they didnt get on very well because they used to fight a lot. My ram that is left has become very friendly and often comes to the front of the tank to look.

 

[Inchworm]

Sorry to learn about your fish, Deano. But at least you have a bright side to the story.

Now, before you get any more fish, let me ask you about your catfish. Is it a cory? I'm asking this because if it is, you might want to consider getting more of them. Cory cats are schooling fish and do not really thrive when they are by themselves, but they are a very amuseing little fish in groups of 3 or more.

Here is a link where you can identify it if it is one of the corydoras.

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/calli...ra/g_thumbs.htm

 

[Eelzor]

Sorry about the deaths Deano. I have always wanted rams but they're too expensive in my area.

 

[Deano]

Its isnt a cory, i found out which kind it is....its a pictus cat