in our fish tank we have 3 tiger barbs, a bottom feeder and a new guy we added monday. we arent sure what he is because the petstore person said he got sent to them accidentaly. the new guy is eating the fins on all the other fish.one of the barbs had been eaten down to nothing, his tail fin is almost all gone, and his top fins and bottom fins are gone too (unsure of what they are called) and it looks like his little arms are almost gone too. my question is, will he be okay? he seems ok now but is he going to die? should we remove the new fish?
2007-04-20 06:52:26 · 10 answers · asked by palmtreeprincess04 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
by the way, the new fish is a very bright yellow. dont know if that will help or not
2007-04-20 06:59:13 · update #1
It sounds like your new fish may well be one of several African cichlids, and no, they don't play well with others at all. Compared to the fairly peaceful fish you have in your tank it is very territorial and will continue to attack your fish until it kills the other one by one. If you remove the new fish there is a chance your tiger barb will live, but honestly it's not a good prospect for him. Odds are quite good he will have problems getting adequate food and the other barbs may pick on him due to his weakened condition. Even if none of those things occur, he is currently very susceptible to fin rot disease.
I would recommend removing and returning the new fish and just hope for the best with the tiger barb.
MM
2007-04-20 07:08:10 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well in a fish tank depending upon size, fish develop territories, when ever you add new fish it is always best to rearrange your plants and items in the tank so that fish will redevelop their territories along with the new tank member. Remember there are certain fish that do not get along with others, so if it is a constant problem you have decide which fish you want to keep, if you want to get rid of the newbie because he is the one that is causing the problems that is your best solution. It is always best to keep a list of the fish that you have as tank mates, so that when you go to a reputable fish store that knows the fish they carry on capatibility, this helps some, some fish are just bad bully fish.
some fins grow back, however the fish may get diseased and die. Keep the fish isolated in a separate isolation tank you can get these at the pet store. Also ask for medication for the water.
Go and buy a fresh water fish or salt water fish aquarium book, this will help a lot in getting you all the information you need for further problems down the road.
Good luck with your fish
I have a 55 gallon fresh water aquarium and love it.
2007-04-20 07:10:40 · answer #2 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most piranha live on the fins of other fish,so it could well be one. It's a terrifically bad idea to purchase a fish if you don't know what the species name is. It's an even worse idea to purchase a fish from some one who doesn't know the proper name for the fish. Always get the Latin name of the animal you are going to purchase. Then look it up on the net or in a book. If the sales person can't give you that information then don't buy their fish! If one does not know the proper name of a fish how can one ask an intelligent question? Sorry about your fish.
2007-04-20 07:11:28 · answer #3 · answered by PeeTee 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Tough to answer your question without knowing the species involved, but your new guy might also be a "gold" form of the standard Chinese algae eater (see photo for comparison: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=938 ). These only eat algae as juveniles and will harass (and sometimes kill) other fish. If this is what you have, I'd definitely advise a trade. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea anyway, if he's that aggressive to your barb.
You can look at some of the yellow Africans through links on this page: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pcatid=830
2007-04-20 07:12:02 · answer #4 · answered by copperhead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One word "chiclid". As I'm assuming that the fish store guy would recognize a puffer, or oscar. As tiger barbs are aggressive, or semi-aggressive the new must be an african chiclid or some thing similar. Send the fish back to the store, and never go back. No decent fish store would sell you a fish they knew nothing about.
2007-04-20 07:52:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The new fish is a more aggressive species than the old fish. A common mistake of fish tank owners is that they put the wrong species together. If you have species of roughly equal aggression levels they will be ok. The other fish are simply not fighting back. He will probably kill everything in the tank.
2007-04-20 07:11:18 · answer #6 · answered by Wayne 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
we need a pic. it could be an african chiclid which are very aggressive. most stores would not carry piranhas and usually when they do they are the red bellys, i've never seen a yellow piranha. yes if the fish is attacking your other fish, take him back. the fact that you bought a fish from a store and they don't know what it is, tells you, you shouldn't buy fish from that store cause they don't know what the hell they are talking about.
2007-04-20 07:04:22 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try buying a tank divider they sell them at petsmart. Its a big net thing that will provide your new guy some of his own space.
2007-04-20 09:18:28 · answer #8 · answered by Joe B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
nationwide Park t Badin Lake, outdoors of Albemarle, NC there is yet another contained in the region of Asheville NC that sounds very wonderful yet i have not been to, even if it has each thing you want.
2016-12-04 09:08:25 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe its a pirahna..watch your arm!
2007-04-20 06:56:10 · answer #10 · answered by kid 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋