Aquarium Fish Aggression
Some hobbyists want their fish to be mean. They like it when their fish kick each other’s tail fins. When I was an aquarium retailer, such hobbyists would come into the store and ask what was the most aggressive fish. I dreaded that question because it was a hard one to answer — a judgment call at best. And I dreaded it because no matter which species I pointed to as being the most psychotic, murderous fish in stock, the next question was always a harder one to answer: The hobbyist would want to know if the fish in question would get along with a list of other murderous, psychotic species they already owned. When you want to find a fish that will get along with your other fish, you probably shouldn’t start looking for the baddest fish in the store. Most hobbyists want their fish to coexist peacefully. They enjoy the calming effect of watching a relaxing community of fish in a peaceful aquarium. When a specimen deviates from friendly behavior, there’s reason for concern. Unfortunately, things can go wrong even in a well-planned community. That’s just the way it is. In nature, the strong dominate the weak; bullies torment the gentle; and many species simply view others as fish food. Even a peaceful species can have the occasional “criminal” individual. In this article, we’ll talk about aggression. We’ll start by discussing the things that make fish fight because the more you understand about fish behavior, the more you can anticipate and prevent aggression problems in your fish aquarium. And for those times when the best planning fails and things still go wrong, we’ll list steps you can take that might make all the difference.
