Ruby Red ER

[willyairmo]

Hello all. I'm hoping for some insight as to treatment for a bullied Ruby Red. Stats are: 55 gallon, 4' tank with 4 Rainbow Sharks and (up until yesterday) 2-3" Red Cap males, and 2-3.5" Ruby Reds. One RR is definitely male, the other (my bullied buddy) I'm not sure about. Tank stats are: pH is 7.8, 79° F, nitrogen cycle is solid, and GH is 15 dgh. A large castle, 4 terra cotta half-pots, and lots of other nooks and crannies provide plenty of 'territories.' This is a 4 month old tank that was progressing nicely.

I've had aggression issues with Big Red (the male RR) before, but was always able to head them off by short time outs, rearranging the furniture, etc. A couple of days ago I noticed that Tigger (picture attached), the RR with questionable gender, was looking ragged and was hiding out for long periods of time. Appetite was good but I got an uneasy feeling from his/her appearance. Then yesterday afternoon I found Peanut, the smaller of the 2 Red Caps, floating at the surface. I realized at that point I hadn't seen him since the day before. He presented a lot of fin injuries. Now prior to this he was always a feisty chap who did not tolerate much crap from any of the other fish. I just moved Tigger to the Hospital tank. My question (along with looking for any other advise for this Newb) is this. What treatment(s) can I offer Tigger? The hospital tank water parameters are the same as the the 55, save for a temperature of 81°. I've added the appropriate dosage of Melafix to promote fin healing and Tigger looks a lot more stable since entering the ER. Thoughts?

In addition, the castle seems to be everybody's favorite hideout and I have a feeling the aggression's may stem from that, aside from the usual Cichlid tough guy shenanigans. I would love to hear thoughts on this also.

TIA, love this site.
Love, peace, and chicken grease,
Willyairmo

PS: Believe it or not, I have few issues with the Rainbow Sharks. I plan on splitting them into sets of 2, according to size, in another 55 I'm prepping. The aggression between the sharks is manageable, and there has been no Shark/Cichlid/Shark problems.

 

[OB Guy]

It's hard to say what you can do about the aggression without knowing for sure which fish are causing the damage. Time outs rarely work for me. Rainbow sharks can be aggressive so I wouldn't rule them out on being who caused the fin damage. Welcome to the forum.

 

[willyairmo]

Good morning. Here's an update. My female Ruby Red responded nicely to her time in the hospital tank. She was up and about in a couple of days and was eating extremely well by day 3. She then spent the next 3 weeks in this 5 gallon tank, tolerating daily 80% water changes, as this tank was set up for her emergency and not cycled. When the 2nd 55 was cycled I was able to rearrange my livestock as follows. The 4 rainbow sharks are in the first 55 with the female Ruby Red. Again, I have no issues with the sharks. I was going to split them up with each 55 getting 2, but a discussion with my lfs warned that since 4 Rainbows in a 55 constituted an overstocked situation, that my be why I was getting away with it, and splitting them up would, in his opinion, cost me 2 fish. I think he was right and it seems they're still good.

The male Ruby Red and the male Red Cap Lethrinops went into the 2nd 55, with a 6" Pleco. I had deduced very quickly after the incident with my female Ruby Red that the Red Cap IS the aggressor here, and I mean brutal. In an effort to bring more players into the tank I went out yesterday and brought home 4 more Cichlids. A Dragon Blood Peacock, an Albino Sunshine Peacock, a Lwanda Peacock, and an Electric Blue Hap. All are males @ 3.5", except the Lwanda, which is over 4". Things looked great... yesterday. I awoke to a brutalized Lwanda, nipped tail, and he seemed to be struggling with his buoyancy which I assume to be due to a bruised swim bladder. I moved him to the hospital tank and he seems to be improving already. His buoyancy control appears to be getting better with each passing hour, and he looks less stressed.

Once again the Red Cap is the culprit. I moved some furniture around, including removing his cave, in an effort to stave off his attacks, at least temporarily. My plan, at this point, is to nurse the Lwanda for a bit and reintroduce him to the tank. In the mean time I don't see any option for the Red Cap but to put him in his own tank, at least until I can find a more permanent solution, up to and including a re-home. And, if the Red Cap can't be controlled in the meantime... Oy Vey!

My ultimate goal is to get this 2nd 55 to a Overstocked, Overfed, Over filtered status, I just hope we all survive the process.

Any and all thoughts on this saga would be greatly appreciated.

 

[OB Guy]

I'd say either put the Red Cap in it's own tank or re-home may be your only options.

 

[willyairmo]

Thanks OB Guy. I just pulled the Red Cap and the Ruby Red. They were wolf packing everyone else. Bruises on the Electric Blue, the Dragon Blood was hanging up top left and the Albino Sunshine was on the substrate bottom right. So, the bruisers are in a bucket until I can get the Lwanda back into the 55, if he makes it. He seems to be maintaining his buoyancy better but he looks whooped. My female Ruby Red looked worse and she bounced back in spades. So, here's hoping. I'll then move the bruisers to the hospital then.

Question: how many peacocks/haps constitutes an overstocked 55? I've got a Fluval FX4 so I'm ready for it.

 

[OB Guy]

I've got 15 OB Peacocks that are all around 4" in a 55 running a Fluval FX6.

 

[willyairmo]

I guess I'm going to learn every lesson the hard way. Soon after my last post, the Red Cap and the Ruby got completely out of hand, as if they weren't already. I put them both in a bucket while I planned my next move and the Red Cap killed the Ruby inside of 15 minutes. I should have put them in separate buckets. I know that now (the hard way). The tank now has the Albino Sunshine, the Dragon Blood, the Electric Blue, the Lwanda, and the Pleco. All is well. Each fish has staked out there areas and aside from the occasional 'get off my grass' warnings, peace has come to my Cichlid tank.