Naughty Dp's!

[divegirl]

Eeeeeekkkk!!!!!
Came home from work on Friday and noticed that Little Man was sitting in the corner of the tank looking a touch sorry for himself Well as I stood there and watched the tank to see what was going on 'The Ugly One' [formally known as Hartley] comes diving out and grabs the Pig by the fin and shakes him like a dog with a rag!!!!! Poor little Pig puffed!!!!! Don't get me wrong....it was amazing to see.....but I pooped myself and did what every self respecting aquarist knows never to do.....I BANGED ON TANK ....Not that it did any good....LOL. The Ugly One then decided to be a little helpful and grabbed Pig by the tail....thus causing Pig to expel said air!!!!

I've been watching them very carefully, and TUO [the ugly one] is a real bully....stopping the other two from feeding etc......So today I've added more plants and am feeding through a syringe so that everyone gets something

I think the main problem is that it looks like they are all female......Oh joy!!!!!

Any other suggestions as to what I should do?

Lisa x

 

[lilacamy931]

Oh Dear that is not good. I have seen one of my DPs puff and it was not happy circumstances then either. It is amazing to see though isnt it?

Hmmm..Obviously the ugly one is the dominant, perhaps it is establishing dominance? How long have you had them now, full grown adults? Best to make as planted as possible and keep careful eye on their behaviour. Keep us updated. Hopefully Jennybugs, iSnail or Bagu will be along shortly with more adequate advice to give you.

(I also tell my fish off when they are misbehaving, swear I get puppy dog eyes back and "what?" sometimes)/

 

[jennybugs]

Puffs if underwater puff up by filling themselves up with water not air. How much planting is there? Breaking up the line of sight is crucial so making the tank look like a plant jungle is necessary.

It sounds to me like you may need to get the puff that's being picked on out and into its own tank

 

[divegirl]

Hi Jen.....

The thing is it's mainly one picking on the other two.....BUT......That said, after adding more plants yesterday and feeding live brine shrimp [working on the assumption 'she' can't be everywhere at once].....we had a calm tank....they were even schooling ....and soooooo fat.....lol
The other two do fight back....so I think it could be just sorting out a pecking order for now.

I feed live and frozen bloodworm via a syringe....so they are all getting fed....oh and believe me....it's a jungle in there!!!!!!

Lisa x

 

[lilacamy931]

Just keep a real careful eye on them, if the behaviour continues, suggest moving Uglypuff to separate tank or putting in a divider if "she" can't play nicely.

 

[jennybugs]

Hopefully the extra planting will calm them down. It's very distressing to witness I imagine! I never had any issues like that

 

[divegirl]

Well things seem a lot calmer day by day Still lots of chasing, but hey....these are Pufferfish!!!! I've had them for about 8 weeks now and they were tiny when I got them [lost one but it was replaced from the same tank at the LFS]. So I think they're still under 6 months old. That said....Uglypuff [loving that name Amy], did seem to be showing a belly stripe earlier....but to be honest I really don't have a clue as to what sex they are.
SO....I shall carry on as I am....just need to learn not to spend so much time watching the tank....Life is being neglected!!!!!!!

Lisa x

Ps....Anyone know at what age I should be able to definatley sex them? No eye wrinkles that I can see....and only a very slight belly stipe on one!!!!

 

[jennybugs]

5-6 months old onwards

 

[lilacamy931]

Someone also mentioned (cant remember who) that the stripe can just mean dominant one and not always the male. I had mine..ohh 5 months, and all sexed by this point. Hope they are behaving the little darlings. LOL uglypuff sorry!

 

[divegirl]

Me thinks I'll have to brush up on my photography skills and get you lot to sex them for me!!!!

Lisa x

Ps....don't get me wrong....I know what I'm looking for....just can't see anything to point me in the right direction

 

[jennybugs]

Someone also mentioned (cant remember who) that the stripe can just mean dominant one and not always the male.

That was me Tank full of females and the dominant one has the belly stripe.

 

[divegirl]

So does it really matter then? What I'm saying is....Can you keep a tank full of all females/males realitively [sp] trouble free, as long as you keep a watch on what is going on in the tank?

I still have a peaceful tank today....well they all attack each other equally

What about size? Is that an indicator? I have one DP that is much smaller than the other two!!!!

So confused.....lol

Lisa x

 

[jennybugs]

All females would be easier to keep than all males or mostly males. There will always be a 'fight' for dominance and a pecking order, but if you're mixed it;s always best to have 2 or 3 females to a male

Size is just like us...mostly the females are indeed a bit bigger than the males, but you get different sizes within the sexes just like humans.