KatieBunky
Aquarium Advice Freak
I bought two Orandas from my lfs last Thursday (29th May) & I'm not sure if they're fighting or establishing a hierarchy etc... Chip is a red & white capped Oranda & Dale is a black Oranda, both measure 9/10cm long so they're still juveniles I suppose & Dale is definitely smaller than Chip, but not by much. They're in a 10g tank with a pleco who is about 20cm long & sits in the same place... all day... everyday... exciting life XD I know it's a small tank, I know, but they should be moving to a 30g by Christmas & I've had goldfish in this tank before who were fine but due to personal circumstances they had to be given away.
So I'll stop blabbering on & give you all some info about my tank. I have 3 plants in this tank, one is very overgrown & needs cutting back but Chip & Dale love it. I have a shipwreck in the middle of my tank which doesn't take up too much room & it has an air stone inside it so bubbles flow out & it looks so pretty XD I'm going to be removing the ship in the next few weeks or so & making my own cave out of stones & fish tank adhesive if I can get my hands on some so there is more room for them to swim & more hiding spaces. I'm on study leave at the moment so I need a little something to keep my busy & I think it could be quite a good mini project. Water parameters are as follows:
Nitrate- 20
Nitrite- 0
pH- 7 (woop woop, neutral!)
Carbonate hardness- 240
General hardness- 120
My filter is plenty big enough for my tank & I think that's about everything I can say about it.
Right, so, onto the fighting/pecking order situation. My Orandas are constantly swimming & I only see them rest at the bottom a few times a day. They were getting on fine when I put them in the tank on Thursday but on Friday when I came downstairs in the morning I noticed Dale has a small rip in his dorsal fin. Then on Saturday I noticed a few of his scales on his right side look like they are peeling off & have gone slightly white. The rip isn't messy, it just looks like someone's got a pair of scissors to his fin & cut down a few millimeters. It's not infected from what I can see & it looks like it's begun to heal. Chip is in perfect condition, it's just Dale that looks like he's been dragged through a bush backwards. Chip will chase Dale & nudge underneath his bum/vent, but then Dale will do that to Chip. Chip does more of the pushing & shoving & nudging his "nose" under Dales bum but I have not once seen him open his mouth to hurt Dale, but I only watch them for about an hour or so every day in total so I don't know what happens when I'm not there. I think my pleco might be to blame because he's been alone in this tank for about 2/3 weeks so he's probably a bit ticked off that he's got young, active goldfish in his home. But on the other hand, I've had fancy goldfish before who have not been attacked, a few nips on the fins but nothing serious.
So my questions come down to this:
-Given what I've said, are my Orandas fighting, playing, establishing a pecking order, mating etc?
-What can I use to glue together the rocks for my home-made cave?
-If my pleco is to blame for the fin rip(s) & scales hanging off, can I put him in a 7g tank by himself? I don't want to rehome him but at the same time I don't want to keep him with Chip & Dale if he is found guilty XD
I will upload a picture of Chip, Dale (purely because I think they're handsome chaps) & my tank. The picture of Chip & Dale was when I first put them in the tank so the "fighting" hadn't started. The picture of the tank was taken about a year ago but it is still exactly the same, the only thing that has changed is they have a new filter & lots more of that tall fluffy looking plant. My fish at the time were partly hiding behind the ship, which is why it looks a little empty. I will get a picture of Dale's war wounds tomorrow as my lights are on a timer & they've switched off & he was a bit ticked off with having a torch shining in his face XD sorry my tank picture is a bit iffy, it is a bit bigger than that, you can see part of the old filter on the right side & it is bigger to the left as well. I'll get a better picture tomorrow
One more thing, I apologise for this being so super long & I don't really know how I've written so much about two fish that I've had for three/four days. Again, my apologies, if you've read down this far, thank you so much for taking the time to read my newspaper article sized post. Any suggestions welcome as long as you're polite ^_^
Thanks!
So I'll stop blabbering on & give you all some info about my tank. I have 3 plants in this tank, one is very overgrown & needs cutting back but Chip & Dale love it. I have a shipwreck in the middle of my tank which doesn't take up too much room & it has an air stone inside it so bubbles flow out & it looks so pretty XD I'm going to be removing the ship in the next few weeks or so & making my own cave out of stones & fish tank adhesive if I can get my hands on some so there is more room for them to swim & more hiding spaces. I'm on study leave at the moment so I need a little something to keep my busy & I think it could be quite a good mini project. Water parameters are as follows:
Nitrate- 20
Nitrite- 0
pH- 7 (woop woop, neutral!)
Carbonate hardness- 240
General hardness- 120
My filter is plenty big enough for my tank & I think that's about everything I can say about it.
Right, so, onto the fighting/pecking order situation. My Orandas are constantly swimming & I only see them rest at the bottom a few times a day. They were getting on fine when I put them in the tank on Thursday but on Friday when I came downstairs in the morning I noticed Dale has a small rip in his dorsal fin. Then on Saturday I noticed a few of his scales on his right side look like they are peeling off & have gone slightly white. The rip isn't messy, it just looks like someone's got a pair of scissors to his fin & cut down a few millimeters. It's not infected from what I can see & it looks like it's begun to heal. Chip is in perfect condition, it's just Dale that looks like he's been dragged through a bush backwards. Chip will chase Dale & nudge underneath his bum/vent, but then Dale will do that to Chip. Chip does more of the pushing & shoving & nudging his "nose" under Dales bum but I have not once seen him open his mouth to hurt Dale, but I only watch them for about an hour or so every day in total so I don't know what happens when I'm not there. I think my pleco might be to blame because he's been alone in this tank for about 2/3 weeks so he's probably a bit ticked off that he's got young, active goldfish in his home. But on the other hand, I've had fancy goldfish before who have not been attacked, a few nips on the fins but nothing serious.
So my questions come down to this:
-Given what I've said, are my Orandas fighting, playing, establishing a pecking order, mating etc?
-What can I use to glue together the rocks for my home-made cave?
-If my pleco is to blame for the fin rip(s) & scales hanging off, can I put him in a 7g tank by himself? I don't want to rehome him but at the same time I don't want to keep him with Chip & Dale if he is found guilty XD
I will upload a picture of Chip, Dale (purely because I think they're handsome chaps) & my tank. The picture of Chip & Dale was when I first put them in the tank so the "fighting" hadn't started. The picture of the tank was taken about a year ago but it is still exactly the same, the only thing that has changed is they have a new filter & lots more of that tall fluffy looking plant. My fish at the time were partly hiding behind the ship, which is why it looks a little empty. I will get a picture of Dale's war wounds tomorrow as my lights are on a timer & they've switched off & he was a bit ticked off with having a torch shining in his face XD sorry my tank picture is a bit iffy, it is a bit bigger than that, you can see part of the old filter on the right side & it is bigger to the left as well. I'll get a better picture tomorrow
One more thing, I apologise for this being so super long & I don't really know how I've written so much about two fish that I've had for three/four days. Again, my apologies, if you've read down this far, thank you so much for taking the time to read my newspaper article sized post. Any suggestions welcome as long as you're polite ^_^
Thanks!