# My Goldfish is being bullied D=



## Staceybob

Hi there,

I have 4 goldfish and 2 shubunkins in a 100 litre aquarium. I originally only have the 2 goldfish and 2 shubunkins, but decided to add an extra pair of goldfish last week.

Any way, one of the new fish that I have added has started bullying one of my smaller goldfish and has torn his poor tail to shreds. It's really upsetting to see and I just don't know what's best for them now.

Please help or advise as best as you can.

(I had used treatments to make the fish feel better when I added the new ones into the tank. This new goldfish just seems to be a real bully).

Stacey xxx


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## bichonsrus

Awwwwwwww naughty goldfish!!!Used to keep fish but only found certain types of fish couldnt go with other types of fish, to have two goldfish fighting, not encountered it, sometimes if there is something wrong with the fish it will be attacked but it wouldnt just for for its tail .........dunno if you want to remove it to another holding tank for a while see whats happening...see if naughty fish starts on any others???


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## tinamary

Are you sure that they are not breeding, it can be really rough for the poor female.


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## Staceybob

I don't know but here is the damage he's done to poor little 'Nemo' (I certainly picked the wrong name for the little fellow)










And this is the naughty fish causing the damage >(










I'm really worried about him .

Stacey xxx


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## tinamary

Looks a bit more serious than breeding roughness. I would remove it from the tank and give it a new home somewhere else in the house. This is only my opinion and maybe someone who are expert on fish will come and give you some proper advice.


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## Staceybob

Well I'm taking a water sample to pets at home tomorrow, so I think I'll need to talk to them about it and perhaps see about getting a seperate tank for the poor fellow . I just hope he doesn't start bullying my other little fish if I remove Nemo.

Stacey xxx


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## u-look-like-a-hamster

why not remove the bully

he doent look like a friendly fish.

maybe get him a friend that looks like him andad him to his seperate tank ?

Xx


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## magpie

I can't advise on the bullying situation I'm afraid, but I have to say that your tank is massively overstocked 
A 100 litre tank is only big enough for 2 fancy goldfish or 1 normal goldfish. And while shubunkins and normal goldfish are ok in a tank while they are still small, ideally they really need to be in a pond. The general rule is 40 litres of water per fancy goldfish, and a min of 80 litres per common, comet or shubunkin (preferably more).

Definitely a good idea to get your water tested and I'd make sure the staff give you the actual results - with that many fish in that sized tank you could be having water quality issues.

How long has the tank been set up?


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## Staceybob

:\ Pets at Home told me that 100 litres was plenty big enough for 6 small fish, they're very small fish and I did take those pictures right up against the glass so I'm not sure if my picture is making them look huge. The fish tanks in all the pet stores I've seen have been smaller than mine tank and held way more fish than I have.

The water quality was fine except that the Nitrate was too high, but this area is well known for high Nitrate in tap water, so I am currently treating the water for Nitrate through the filter (I'm taking a sample of the water tomorrow to see if our results have improved).

The tank has been set up for a few weeks now.

U-Look-Like-A-Hamster: I was just thinking about that actually. I should of known he would be bully, he has a black patch above his lip that makes him look like hitler lol!

Stacey xxx


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## magpie

Believe me, [email protected] know next to nothing about fishkeeping!

Your fish are only babies at the moment, but they all have the potential to grow to over a foot in length (not including tail!) and live for upwards of 20 years.

Fish shops can get away with keeping lots of fish in small tanks because they generally have massive filtration systems to keep the water quality good, and they sell the fish pretty quickly so they don't spend a great deal of time in those cramped conditions.

Did you cycle the tank before adding the fish?

When you say the water was 'fine', do you have actual results? I'm not trying to catch you out or anything, but sometimes people have different ideas about what is and is not acceptable...

Honestly I don't want to make you feel bad, but the fact is that there are too many fish in that tank and you'll be very lucky if any of them live to adulthood if you keep them in there


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## Staceybob

magpie said:


> Did you cycle the tank before adding the fish?


Yes, as advised by the fish breeder that sold me the tank.



magpie said:


> When you say the water was 'fine', do you have actual results? I'm not trying to catch you out or anything, but sometimes people have different ideas about what is and is not acceptable...


I didn't catch the numbers, she said it to another guy there, but she said the ammonia was absolutely perfect and as was everything else. She said the only problem was Nitrate which was off the scale, which is why we're trying the treatment for Nitrate now.

Stacey xxx


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## magpie

Well hopefully your test results will be good tomorrow too 

And please, please think about getting your fish a bigger tank. I know it 80 litres per fish sounds like an awful lot, but they really do need it. They are very active, very messy fish - they need lots of room to exercise, and they need a large volume of water as well as a huge filter to cope with the amount of waste they produce. 
It's also much easier to keep them healthy if they're in a decent sized tank!


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## Staceybob

Hi, thought I'd update about this.

I spoke to my dad this morning and he advised my to contact the aquarium store. I contacted Byrkley Gardens and told them the situation and they told me to bring the bully straight back. 

So our little Hitler was returned to the store this morning.

We just have our fingers crossed now for poor little nemo, but he's not looking too good at all .

I got the water retested today at Pets At Home, unfortunately the Nitrate in the water is still too high. Last time the results were a really dark red colour but this time it was a dark orange, so I think it's slightly improved. I'm hoping that it's just that the nitrate treatment needs more time to take effect.

So I've changed another 1/3 of the water today and treated it with Tap Water treatment, and on top of the Nitrate pouch in the filter, I've now added some 'nutrafin' to the filter to see if this helps.

I'm taking the water for a retest next Monday.

Stacey xxx


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## SeaThreePeeO

Nitrite or Nitrate?

Simply adding live plants to your tank should help with the nitrate levels coupled with regular water changes. However nitrite is different kettle of fish altogrther.


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## Staceybob

It's definately Nitrate and I do have live plants in the tank.

Stacey xxx


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## magpie

At least you don't have to worry about your fish getting bullied anymore 

Did [email protected] give you results for ammonia and nitrite aswell as nitrate? Those are more harmful to fish than nitrate.


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## Staceybob

They said the ammonia and the nitrite was absolutely fine (I could see the tubes and the colour charts and they were absolutely fine).

It quite litrally is just the nitrate causing a problem.

Stacey xxx


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## Staceybob

Sorry for double post but thought I'd update.

I thought I'd let you all know that unfortunately Nemo died this morning </3.

RIP little Nemo .

Stacey xxx


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## magpie

Sorry to hear that


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## Emweeze&Treacle

oh thats a shame sorry hun... i was reading for my marine fish before i got them that because my fish are aggressive and territorial there was a hint that if they get territorial and start bullying others, to move the tank orniments around to confuse the fish and make them find new territory... appartently calms them down... obviously thats for aggressive marine fish so dont know if that applies to goldfish lol as none of my goldfish have ever been bullies... and not had to try it with my marine fish as the settled perfectly and none bully each other... but makes sense i suppose... dunno only an idea... the only bullyin we have ever whitnessed is with our piranhas... cos when we first got them, they refused to eat so the slightly bigger one decided to nip the other... there eatin now tho thank god... awkward things


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