Bullying.. Fish that just came out of hospital tank

[Acerrato]

Hi Guys - I had both of my 4" snakeskins in a hospital tank, treating with metro for Hex... they're back in the main tank now and one of them is really being bothered by my blue diamond.. The blue diamond is being a straight up jerk... constantly chasing her around until she goes and hides in the driftwood... the second she comes out, blue diamond is right there being a jerk again. I was told it could take some time for the snakeskins to start eating again because of the meds and just recovering... The bullied SS ate the day that I put her back in the tank but not again since then (2-3 days).. She seems interested in food - she comes to my hand while I'm feeding the others but she kind of gets pushed out of the way and then she swims away... Food will float right by her face though and she won't go after it. I've tried feeding on both sides of the tank and no luck..

I woke up today and she's got a couple of small dark circle marks on her body- she's never had dark spots like this before - I'm assuming they're scrapes from being chased (see photos)...

I'm really not thinking it's a great idea to remove anyone from the tank again, but I don't have much experience with this type of situation yet. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

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[danotaylor]

Those spots are right in line with where the bars are & look like pigment to me mate, not damage.
You could try putting the BD into your hospital tank for a week or so and let the SS get settled, then reintroduce the BD. BD can be a very bossy strain...

[Acerrato]

Thank you for your response - Yes, I was more concerned with the bullying than the spots.. I'm going to give it a few more days and see what happens.. Both snakeskin's actually just ate a little bit for me, so that's a relief! I didn't notice that they're exactly in line with the bars until you said that! The spots aren't raised at all so it could definitely just be pigment like you said.. Would putting a divider in the tank be a bad option? Or could this do more harm than good? Maybe putting the snakeskins on the same side with the calmer fish of the group, and then putting the BD on the other side with the more rowdy ones?


Those spots are right in line with where the bars are & look like pigment to me mate, not damage.
You could try putting the BD into your hospital tank for a week or so and let the SS get settled, then reintroduce the BD. BD can be a very bossy strain...

[danotaylor]

A divider would achieve the same degree of separation as removing to another tank :thumbsup:

[Iminit]

I like the removing the bully. You have the tank set up. Just put it in qt tank for a few days to a week and it will come back like a new fish. I don’t believe fish have memories. I’ve done this before with discus with success. Divider is just ugly. But if it doesn’t stop bulling I’d move it. Good luck.

[peewee1]

Those spots are right in line with where the bars are & look like pigment to me mate, not damage.
You could try putting the BD into your hospital tank for a week or so and let the SS get settled, then reintroduce the BD. BD can be a very bossy strain...

I thought of this as well. I did have two that were much the same. I was going to seperate them but didn't. After months of fighting they eventually paired and began the spawning. In fact the female traded males choosing the one she had the biggest problem with.

[Acerrato]

Morning everyone - so far so good today - my Snakeskin darkened up a bit (back to her normal color) and she's attempting to eat again... she's eating and then spitting the food out.. She seems more content today as well.. I'm going to hold off on the divider for now (it was only going to be temporary until the SS's got settled back in).. we will see what happens... Thank you all for answering!