Nasty red zebra; what to do????

[Dave Schulman]

I have a large red zebra in my 75gal among about 15 or 16 other africans. He doesnt have a female but hes reallly nasty. He killed my P. Electra today and it was just about the zebras size, hes so violent he tore out its eyes. Should i get rid of him ... i fear for my other fish especially my frontosa!!!
"ThE AnGRyFiSh"

[WorldNation]

is he new to the tank?
have you added any fish recently?
is youre tank over-populated?
are there sufficiant caves and rockwork?

[matt1066]

He's apparentley the Alpha-male. If he is a vicious dictator I would take him to the lfs and trade him in.

I have found that once an Alpha tastes blood the carnage continues. Observe your flock and see who, in the absence of the Zebra would be the next contender for the Alpha's spot. Observe the tank for a while and see who goes where and when. As was mentioned if you don't have enough caves, shelters, open space for your particular species then fights can erupt. When I say fights I mean more than just a shuttering or quick mouht tug.

Just take your time and observe. Keep us posted.

Matt

[jonah]

He's apparentley the Alpha-male. If he is a vicious dictator I would take him to the lfs and trade him in.


I fully agree. Less headache and heartache in the longrun.

[DG]

Hello,

I also had the same problem with one of my red zebra's. Luckily the fish shop let me swap him with another red zebra.

[merlyn2221]

Oh, yes they are pretty, but can be soooo nasty, too!

Mine is king of the tank. Killed my auratus if you can believe it. He is worse without females, but doesn't bother anyone else in my tank, luckily.

Trade the sucker in and get the new one some females.

[JonZeigler]

I have had mine for over three years. He has seen a lot of replacements come and go. He is in a 20g tank. He does
When I say fights I mean more than just a shuttering or quick mouht tug.
chasing the other fish around in the tank. I try to keep the same/similarly species in the tank. One of the new ones die and they started to nibble, but no fight broke out. I think it depends on how comfortable the fish is in the tank; how much personal space he has, how long has he been in the tank, what other kind of fish are in their with him. From the information I have gotten in the couple of years, if they are going to breed they should be alike. I would mix up to many different species. I know that is not directly what your asking, but keep in mind that you want the fish to be happy most of all.

[JB wind]

in a 75 i would have at least 20 fish in there and they would all be in groups of 3 or 4. if you like him that much. and if you have another tank put him in there for about a month, small one will work (10gal) add more fish at decent sizes to the 75. this has worked twice for me. and after a month goes by put him back in the 75 and watch him.