Which fish is the culprit

[ineke]

I have recently added 2 clown loaches and a rainbow shark to my aquarium and have noticed a big chunk taken off the tail of a betta and it looks like a neon may have been attacked too. My tank has been going since Xmas with bettas, angels, Endlers , neons ,Corys , bristle nose and I have only had a few minor fights with the bettas. I'm thinking it might be the rainbow shark as I know they can be very territorial but have had them in the past with no problems. I didn't think clown loaches were a problem and I don't think the bettas would take a large bite out of each other. Any thoughts?

[Squiggle]

I'd say it was the rainbow, once a shark, always a shark, lol :victorious: I'd also keep an eye on the angels picking off the neons, I've seen angels eat Endlers :encouragement:

[Ziek]

I'm with Squiggle the rainbow sharks can be nasty, I've had quite a few ppl bring them back to work because they've attacked their other fish. Angels will definitely eat neons if they are big enough

[ineke]

Thanks Squiggle my thoughts too about the shark. The angels seem ok at the moment but they are getting quite big. There are lots of hiding places for the Endlers and neons that the angels can't get to but yes I know they can be quite good hunters of smaller fish. Alan will be sorry enough seeing his shark go I don't think his angels will be going anywhere he loves them! I told him when we got the shark that it might cause problems- sometimes I hate it when I'm right!

[ineke]

Thanks Ziek I was pretty sure the shark was trouble but Alan really wanted one. I had hoped the angels would leave the neons alone and up till last week or so the tank has been peaceful with plenty of room for the neons to school and get out of the angels way. The angels are getting big now though they are 9 months old so getting up to breeding age too. They are here to stay even if we end up with only angels and the catfish

[CNgo2006]

Betta can take pretty large chunks out of each other..especially when they tear at it! I even had one that took chunks out of his own tail (tail biter!)

[ineke]

Betta can take pretty large chunks out of each other..especially when they tear at it! I even had one that took chunks out of his own tail (tail biter!)

I must admit that was my first thought because they do spar occassionally especially the old breeder female she bosses them all about but I've never seen a chunk taken out. Oh Alan would be upset if I got rid of his shark and it still happened

[Squiggle]

Did Alan choose it cause it was a rainbow shark or just because it was a shark? If it's just cause it's a shark then I'd look for a Flying Fox shark, they are pretty placid for a shark :encouragement:

[ineke]

He always liked the rainbows as I said I've had them in all my community tanks and never had a problem but I notice he bullies the loaches even though they are the same size. I will see what happens over the next couple of days and if there are any more problems I will just have to see if the LFS will take him back.

[Squiggle]

Sounds like a good plan :encouragement:

[Baccus]

I would keep a close eye on the clown loaches too, they can be sneaky tail nippers. Possibly more so since there is only two of them. Clown loaches are very social fish and when kept in a group their inquisitive ways and at times slightly bullying behaviour is contained amongst their own group.

[2OFUS]

Loaches are gill biters

trade the rainbow shark in for some silver sharks they are peaceful

[Squiggle]

Lol, silver sharks are very cool but they are such scaredy cats, very jumpy fish :encouragement:

[2OFUS]

Yeah but it solves her tail biting dilemma :)

[ineke]

Looks like the shark goes maybe get a silver fox and a couple more clown loaches because I like them

[Foxpuppet]

When we had a betta in our community tank it was the endlers who did the most damage to him. Just sit and watch for a while, you soon see who is doing what to who ;)

[OzShrimp]

I had two adult angels in a community tank which included a male betta and one of the angels ate him and some of my guppies over time :(

[ineke]

All the damage gets done at night!!! However no new injuries for a few days now. I wonder if it may have been the bettas fighting. I noticed one of the girls really flaring when another one came near her. Also none of the fish seem particularly worried about the shark they just move out of it's way but not very far so they are not frightened by him.

[Steph2692]

I'd blame the loaches, I once put one of my males in a breeder box in my community tank to warm him up over winter and my damn clowns completely striped him of his beautiful fins through the slits in the bottom of the box within 45mins! =(

[ineke]

Thanks Steph so many different stories about different fish it almost wants me to have a one species only tank! Funny thing is over the years I've had many fish in community tanks with no trouble! At the moment peace reigns so still leaning towards sparing bettas but will keep an eye on the clowns. I heard them clicking for the first time yesterday surprised that it was so loud.:encouragement: