[DiXoN]

my 2 5''+ reds have been going at it for 3 days now on and off and are getting pretty annoyed with each other .has anybody had any experience with this type of fighting .
i know it will possibly be down to a dominace battle since i sold the 2 larger reds but for a month they were ok.
i have had reds fighting before but nothing on this scale,the problem is they are so evenly matched i cant see one getting the upper hand and the other giving in,
hopefully no death will occur from this but fins and the like are getting pretty shibby'd up at the moment.
both reds have turned a lot darker and will dart at each other every chance they get ,the piraya is just chilling coming out every now and then to see what is going on but not joining in thank god.
the water is spot on (will get weekly water change tonight also) and they are well fed they even stopped to eat yesterday then started up again.
any experience on this would be greatly apprectiated so i can know what to expect .i have never lost a p in all the 3 years of keeping them and this is the first major barny i have witnessed on this scale.
i dont have another tank to take one out and would not want to either (only have a 5 gal feeder)
thanks dixon

 

[Judazzz]

I think your problem is that you only have two reds, which many people have advised against in other posts!
The fact that you also keep a piraya in there may be of little consequence to this: the reds are showing 'natural', nattereri-specific behaviour (ie. establishing dominance amongst themselves), and since there are only two of them, they're only able to fight with each other.

Fights with the piraya will probably also be over territory and dominance, but I think there's a difference between inter-species agression on the one hand, and agression towards their own kind on the other hand.
Keep in mind that this is only theorizing from my part, and that I don't have any means to back up previous statements, so if anyone wants to continue this, please do!

 

[RhomZilla]

I think your problem is that you only have two reds, which many people have advised against in other posts!
The fact that you also keep a piraya in there may be of little consequence to this: the reds are showing 'natural', nattereri-specific behaviour (ie. establishing dominance amongst themselves), and since there are only two of them, they're only able to fight with each other.

Fights with the piraya will probably also be over territory and dominance, but I think there's a difference between inter-species agression on the one hand, and agression towards their own kind on the other hand.
Keep in mind that this is only theorizing from my part, and that I don't have any means to back up previous statements, so if anyone wants to continue this, please do!

Need I say more.. Judazzz gave a complete answer.

You may want to lower temps and see if arranging decors would help also. Aside from that, adding another P might help tip off the balance of power.

 

[thePACK]

i third that emotion..

 

[DiXoN]

well 4 days now and its not as bad one of the reds has come out on top and staked his place under the powerhead where the previous dominant p used have as territitory .i think this is what it may have been over the prime spot in the tank .i also thought it may have been down to only 2 reds but it looks to have cooled down a bit now .i will keep an eye on them and i am adding other p's but not until the next uk order in august.in june when i get my new tank i may add 1 more red but finding them is the problem to match the size.
thanks dixon

 

[Wagz]

i started my reds 3 years ago (the current reds i have now i mean) in a 75 gallon tank and got them dime size - about 1.5 years later i had a bad water issue caused by some bad feeders and lost my smallest red - was able to save the other two - needless to say none of them ever faught.

not sure if i was lucky or not, but they were happy as pigs in sh*t. Then i took the remaining 2 and got a 125 gallon and added 2 smaller pirayas, and 2 smaller caribes and it was the oddest thing - the reds almost took a parental role and the 4 smallers P's would hide behind them and follow them everywhere.

Course 8 months later size is all changed amoungst the Ps and dominance changes have taken place - 1 caribe had a huge growth spurt and now runs the tank and even killed off my prettiest (very dark purple and yellow) piraya that.

But no issues since that and i'm hoping to introduce 2 new P's in there this week since i just moved the tank from my other house last weekend.

 

[DiXoN]

the fighting has stopped and the slightly larger of the 2 has not won his territory .the other p now stays in the centre of the tank and the larger one just under the power head.
no bites were inflicted only minor fin nips but all fins are looking shabby and they have returned back to normal colour
harmony is restored after 4 days thank god

dixon