# Bullied cichlid



## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

Hi all,

I just returned from an 8 day vacation (don't worry, I had a fish-sitter) and noticed that my female Tropheops sp. Red Fin has some pretty extensive damage to her tail fin. She's one of three, and while one of the others is certainly a male, I'm beginning to think the third Tropheops may be a young male. He appears to be showing an egg spot.








This is my only tank, so I have no way of isolating her. My question is: if I give her back to the store or start a hospital tank, will munched fins grow back in time?

My tank is 38 gallons and also contains 3 Yellow Labs, one Demasoni and a CAE.

Any advice is appreciated.

kevin


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

As far as 'munched' fins go those don't look that bad but you're wise to take action now before they get worse.

Pristine water and perhaps Melafix will help them heal faster and hopefully prevent them from getting infected. 
Unfortunately the fins won't heal no matter what you do if the fish continues to get attacked. Often the answer is to get more fish to spread out the aggression and/or to get the proper male/female ratio but a 38 gallon does limit you somewhat. Fish need to be able to get some distance from each other. What are the demensions of the tank? 
To help the fish heal you could throw in a few large fake plants. This will give her a place to hide and may prevent other fish from getting a clean shot at her. Removing her to a hospital tank may be necessary if you suspect the attacks are continueing or the fins get infected. (raw red edges or white fuzzy growth).

Robin


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to get a 10 gallon hospital tank tonight. Then I'll have to figure out which Tropheops to return, because I don't see a peaceful future with this bunch.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

IMO, Tropheops are a bit too aggressive to house in your tank size, so this may be contributing to your problems. Having two will likely make things even worse.

It may be that you need to reconsider your stocking for the tank. It's on the small side for keeping most mbuna, but there are other dwarf species with less aggressive natures that would work well.

Kim


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

Ultimately I think they need to go as well. I have one Demasoni in there. If I return all three Tropheops, do you think I would be able to add 11 Demasoni for a 3 Lab/12 Demasoni combo in a 38?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Yes, that would be a great idea, exactly what I would have suggested! :thumb:

You really can't beat the combo of those two species, and might even add a couple more Yellow labs to give you more yellow.

Kim


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

My six year old son will be heartbroken, as the injured Tropheops is his favourite - but...circle of life.

Thanks for the advice - I'm sure my hospital tank will come in handy when the Demasoni start going at each other!


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

ridley25 said:


> Thanks for the advice - I'm sure my hospital tank will come in handy when the Demasoni start going at each other!


Hopefully not! I had a group of 23 and never lost any to aggression, nor did I have to "hospitalize" any of them for injuries.

Maybe you'll get lucky, too!

Kim


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

My bullied Tropheops is resting comfortably in her 10g with a daily dose of MelaFix. She also has a juvenile Bristlenose to keep her company. (It's hard to leave the LFS without a new fish.)
This weekend the male goes back to the LFS. Too much fish for a 38g.
He must have known it was coming - while I removed all the rocks and plants to catch my injured female he managed to spawn with the healthy female - now _she's _holding.

I'm not ready to dive into 11 new Demasoni yet, so I'm leaning towards a Ps. Acei Ngara singleton instead.


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

My bullied Tropheops is back from the hospital tank and the bully is back at the LFS, and everyone seems happy and healthy. It's funny - the week when both the offender and the victim were gone was very quiet in the tank - everyone was hiding. As soon as I transfered my wounded fish from the 10g back to the 38g, it was like a achieved equilibrium again - the tank has come alive.

Thanks all for the advice.

kevin


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Glad things are going better for you and your fish!

Kim


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