Frontosas Being Territorial

[jackel931]

Hey guys,

I have five frontosas right now in a 120 gal tank ( 4ft by 2 ft.) The biggest one is about 5 inches. There is one that is about 2.5 inches (the female), and then there are three around 3.5 to 4 inches. For the most part the big guy doesnt let any of the other fish besides the little female come out of hiding during the day. When they do come out from under all their rocks he just chases them. I am aware of how big they get and that five of those fish can not live comfortably in a tank that size. I did not however think that they would be this aggressive toward each other at such a small size and young age. I was wondering if there are any tricks to alleviate the territoriality that the big fish is exhibiting. I hope that I do not have to get rid of any of the fish at this point as I am not sure which ones I want to keep, but if that is the only option then I will have to look into it. Thank you in advance

 

[jumpman]

Hey guys,

I have five frontosas right now in a 120 gal tank ( 4ft by 2 ft.) The biggest one is about 5 inches. There is one that is about 2.5 inches (the female), and then there are three around 3.5 to 4 inches. For the most part the big guy doesnt let any of the other fish besides the little female come out of hiding during the day. When they do come out from under all their rocks he just chases them. I am aware of how big they get and that five of those fish can not live comfortably in a tank that size. I did not however think that they would be this aggressive toward each other at such a small size and young age. I was wondering if there are any tricks to alleviate the territoriality that the big fish is exhibiting. I hope that I do not have to get rid of any of the fish at this point as I am not sure which ones I want to keep, but if that is the only option then I will have to look into it. Thank you in advance

Ideally you need a 6ft tank and abo-ut 3 to 4 more Frontosa. Then the males agression will eb spread out between more fish and they have more room to get away....any chance of a bigger tank?

 

[jackel931]

there is definitly a chance. lol just not in the near future. I was planning on needing a bigger tank for them in a couple years when they start to hit the 9-10 inch range. I didnt think that I would need a six foot right off the bat. Is there a quick fix to this situation?

 

[kj23502]

Sell them or get a bigger tank.

 

[Colin_T]

I would have thought the tiny fish is a really small male and the ones that are 3-4inches would have been the females.
You can try moving the decor around, redecorate the tank. Add some more hiding places but try not to use big heavy rocks because they will displace some of the tank's water volume.
Add some more fish, dither fish, like rainbows.
Lower the temperature to around 22-24C and feed them less. If feeding them less doesn't help them try feeding them more. Just monitor the water quality and do more water changes to compensate for the extra food going in.

 

[jumpman]

There are rarely 'quick fixes' when it comes to frontosa aggression. Sure you could re-arrange the tank, you could put more hiding spots in for the other fish, but at the end of the day, unless you have a bigger tank the dominant male will almost always chase them back into hiding.

They will ignore the dithers and possibly even try to eat them....


Frontosa are deep water fish so temps should be max 25c anyway, I doubt adjusting the temp will make any difference to your problem.

 

[Colin_T]

Cooler water will help calm many fish down. It also slows their sexual reproduction and if the male is becoming territorial because he is becoming sexually mature, then lowering the temp will help slow this down and reduce his want to make a territory and breed.

 

[jumpman]

Cooler water will help calm many fish down. It also slows their sexual reproduction and if the male is becoming territorial because he is becoming sexually mature, then lowering the temp will help slow this down and reduce his want to make a territory and breed.

Yes I understand the concept and have heard and seen it used with mixed results. My point was that Frontosa being deep water fish originally and being used to cooler water would be less likely to respond to this stimuli.

 

[jackel931]

Thanks for all the great replys guys (or girls?). anyway, that would be great if the 3-4 inch fish are females. The only reason I think the little one is a female is b/c the Alpha male is always trying to court her. Doing sideways dancing in front of her, and he rarely attacks her.

 

[jerzydog]

Hey guys,

I have five frontosas right now in a 120 gal tank ( 4ft by 2 ft.) The biggest one is about 5 inches. There is one that is about 2.5 inches (the female), and then there are three around 3.5 to 4 inches. For the most part the big guy doesnt let any of the other fish besides the little female come out of hiding during the day. When they do come out from under all their rocks he just chases them. I am aware of how big they get and that five of those fish can not live comfortably in a tank that size. I did not however think that they would be this aggressive toward each other at such a small size and young age. I was wondering if there are any tricks to alleviate the territoriality that the big fish is exhibiting. I hope that I do not have to get rid of any of the fish at this point as I am not sure which ones I want to keep, but if that is the only option then I will have to look into it. Thank you in advance

Seems like you'd do better with a bunch of females and just the one male