Swordtail bullying another swordtail - help?

Question

I have a 20 gallon tank with the following:
2 male swordtails
1 female molly
2 glass catfish
3 brilliant rasboras

Until recently (2-3 weeks ago), I only had one swordtail. I bought another and added him to my tank. The two swordtails got along fantastically for the first week or so, swimming around together and etc. However, in the last few weeks the new swordtail has been bullying the old one. The poor fish hides in the plants and under/behind the decorations, and is constantly being chased. His fins are getting frayed at the ends, whether from stress or being nipped or both, I'm not sure.

What do I do to make the new swordtail stop bullying the old one?

Answer 1

Good rule of thumb, 1 male for every 2 females. And you'll need a way bigger tank for them. I've had guppies, swordtails and mollies and their all live bearing fish. Your tank will be full of babies within a couple months. I started out with 1 male and 2 females and ended up with about 40 of them. So be careful and be prepared.

Answer 2

It was a bad idea to add another male to the mix, best way to fix the problem is to take the new one back to the pet store and get 2 or 3 females.Two male swordtails will always end up fighting,even just one female added to the tank would get too much punishment, from one male.Get a good book about fish and study it before you spend money on something that just won't work. Good luck. PeeTee

Answer 3

Get another swordtail or 2. How about 2 females? I never recommend keeping 2 of any species unless they are a mated pair. It's always best to have 3 or more.

Answer 4

The best solution is to separate them. Think of it as an opportunity to get another fish tank :) If you can't, you could try rearranging the tank decorations to make him think it isn't his territory, but this has had mixed results, as far as I have heard.

Answer 5

Try getting some female swordfish to take his mind of his frustrations. Get rid of some of the other fish, or you will have too many for that size tank.

I find that glass fish are usually very aggressive and unpleasant fish, so get rid of them first.

Answer 6

Fish favor only the right ecosystem to reproduce. examine your PH and different parameters and modify as mandatory. each thing you do calls for good study. Fish holding also. in case to procure one different fish bypass to the shop and replace it. i have under no circumstances considered a save decline that request. you should replace because your lone swordtail will be very busy with 2 men.