Goldfish aggressively chasing each other

Hi Group,

I have three ryukin goldfish, and two of them are constantly
aggressively chasing the third one, which I just bought. I assume
that this is breeding behavior, but I'm concerned because it really
looks like the chased fish is going to be injured or killed, and if
nothing else, it seems quite miserable. Is the solution to isolate
the chased fish for a while, or something else? Thanks in advance for
any guidance.

--Larry

Larry Zafran wrote:

Hi Group,

I have three ryukin goldfish, and two of them are constantly
aggressively chasing the third one, which I just bought. I assume
that this is breeding behavior, but I'm concerned because it really
looks like the chased fish is going to be injured or killed, and if
nothing else, it seems quite miserable. Is the solution to isolate
the chased fish for a while, or something else? Thanks in advance for
any guidance.

--Larry

Larry,

Are you keeping your water temperature even. Fluctuations can bring on breeding
behaviour.
If you have a spare tank, it might be an idea to cycle it and give the female a
break if the
behaviour is very aggressive. Another option (that I use) is to put plants in
the tank and
obstacles (no sharp ones) - this makes chasing a little more difficult.

I use a plastic basket to isolate one of my fish when this happens.
The basket floats nicely. It's from a salad spinner that I never use.
Works great.

you must separate them, they will kill the female. some people use a chopstick to
tap the aggressive fish and stop them. it could also be the chased fish is weak too.
do the physical and check for mushy belly which could be infected eggs. how old is
the fish? Ingrid

Larry Zafran wrote:

Hi Group,

I have three ryukin goldfish, and two of them are constantly
aggressively chasing the third one, which I just bought. I assume
that this is breeding behavior, but I'm concerned because it really
looks like the chased fish is going to be injured or killed, and if
nothing else, it seems quite miserable. Is the solution to isolate
the chased fish for a while, or something else? Thanks in advance for
any guidance.

--Larry



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http://puregold.aquaria.net/
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endorsements or recommendations I make.

After posting my original message, I decided to try the following: I
put the two aggressive fish in a breeding tank (within the tank)
overnight to isolate them, and then in the morning, I moved them into
a completely different tank for about 30 minutes. When I put them
back to the original tank, all of the aggressive chasing behavior
completely stopped. Is it possible that the new fish had a chance to
mark its territory, or something along those lines, and is it possible
that the original fish no longer saw the new fish as a newcomer, and
therefore responded to her differently?

--Larry


On Tue, 06 Jan 2004 12:20:24 GMT, Larry Zafran
wrote:

Hi Group,

I have three ryukin goldfish, and two of them are constantly
aggressively chasing the third one, which I just bought. I assume
that this is breeding behavior, but I'm concerned because it really
looks like the chased fish is going to be injured or killed, and if
nothing else, it seems quite miserable. Is the solution to isolate
the chased fish for a while, or something else? Thanks in advance for
any guidance.

--Larry