# Male attacking my females - Please Help



## luvtjaj (Jun 19, 2009)

I have a male red zebra that is very eager to mate. Problem is, no one is interested. He has bitten fins off of my yellow lab and driven her to hiding in the top corner 95% of the time. I haven't noticed him chasing after the other females very often, but its possible. All of my females are hiding sideways in the top corners behind the heaters and pumps to stay away from him. I am unsure of what to do. Should I separate him into his own tank? If so, how long should I keep him alone? Forever? He is our oldest and most beautiful fish, I would hate to have to have him alone and not be part of our tank, but he is harming our other fish and driving them to the corners. What should I do with him??


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What size is the tank? What are his tankmates?


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## luvtjaj (Jun 19, 2009)

He is a Red Zebra. It is a 75 Gallon. His tank mates are : Red Top Zebra, Electric Blue Ahli, Maingano, Mason's Peacock (Males) As for females we have a Yellow Lab, Blue Acei, Borleyi, Cobalt Zebra. We also have a pleco in there, but there are never any issues with him. It's basically my Red Zebra chasing my Yellow Lab.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Well, Malawi are harem breeders so you need 3 or more females for every male.

You seem to prefer the "one of each" idea in stocking your tank. That can work well but only if all the fish are the same gender. Most people do all male because males tend to be more colorful.

If you remove either the red zebra or the yellow lab, it will just start happening with two more individuals until you have all males by default.

Time-out usually isn't very effective. When you return the fish to the tank he will resume his aggressive behavior. And in your case, as mentioned, the next-in-line male will start harassing the female of his choice with the same result.

You could try trading in the females for males of the same species? No two should look alike however.


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