BitterCowgal
New Member
Alrighty...first things first. I have a 20g. long, filtered by a Penguin 150 Biowheel. I give a 25% water change once a week and sweep gravel at least once a month. This tank is cycled and has been set up and running for about two months, perhaps a tad longer. I have one male, 4 females, and approx. 20 fry. Three of the females are relatively new additions to the tank, having only been here for about two and a half weeks. The male (Spike) and my remaining original female (Sassy) both were top feeders and ate flakes off the surface of the water. After adding the new girls to the tank (all of whom feed mid-level or feed off the bottom), both Spike and Sassy stopped feeding from the top and began feeding off the bottom like the new girls. Isn't this odd behavior for swordtails? I've always heard they are top feeders hence the upturned mouth.
The new girls are also rather flighty and 'spook' if you walk past the tank. How can I 'socialize' them to calm them down? I assume they should calm over time. Anyhow...Spike, my male, recently has become rather aggressive. He's always been an eager breeder but this wasn't breeding behavior. He was acting quite aggressive. Chasing the females mercilessly, not allowing them to eat, forcing them to panic and run into the glass. He hardly ate himself as he was too busy chasing a couple of the girls around, mostly my large Pineapple female (Diana). He was never aggressive to either of my red velvets (Sassy and Lilly) nor did he have much interest in my green wag (Anna). He'd chase them around but only to breed. He killed, secondhand, my other pineapple female Shelly. He chased both her and Diana around feverishly, except when the lights were out. Shelly ended up hanging out under the lip of the filter until she got little red sores all over her body (Bacterial infection I believe) and passed away despite my attempt at treating her for it. Until I removed him he continued chasing Diana. I say it wasn't breeding behavior as he merely chased them around, no backing up at them. Why would he have started doing this all of a sudden? He had never been aggressive before. About three days ago, I removed both Spike and Sassy and put them in my spare 10g. Spike hasn't shown anymore aggression at present however if I put him back into the main tank, he goes at it again. I removed Sassy with him as she was also beginning to pick on the other females...sort of a tag team of sorts. Now I'm left with a tank of three females and approx. 20 fry. Diana, the pineapple, has taken up Spike's harrassment.
She chases my smaller red velvet (Lilly) around now. She had never done this before I removed Spike from the tank. Poor Lilly can hardly swim past Diana without Diana taking off after her. My green wag (Anna) also gets chased but very rarely and usually only if she gets in the way while Diana is chasing Lilly. There are times, sometimes long periods of time, that Diana and Lilly get along quite nicely in eachothers company. I've on occasion also watched Lilly lash out and half-heartedly chase one of the fry. Not as though she were trying to eat it, which I would understand, but like she is fustrated and decided to take her fustration out on the baby. Anyone got a possible solution idea? 
