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I just got a new shipment of zebras in today and all seemed to be ok but this afternoon I looked and one of the males was on the glasss halfway up and seemed to look a little red. There is another one that seems to have almost like small gashes that are red on her side towards the back. The other 4 seem fine. I acclimated them slowly Tested the water there is no sign of nitrates, nitites or ammonia. The ph is 7.2 the temp is 84. 4 of them seemed to have gatherd under the sponge filter while the male and female that have the redness are off by themselves. I just need to know if you think there is a problem. Thanks again.....

from reading the other forums I do not believe it is a heater burn...I could really use some advice ...

do they look pinky all over?

If you ours do this when they get angry - eg fighting over caves etc... it could be stress

no they only look pink in the back left area on both fish

heres the update....The males fin are seemingly almost like chewed down...his entire tail is pinkish in color and the female has her left back side the pink had spread but not as severe as the male.

Most likely due to stress. Give them a few days to get use to there new environment. Keep us updated.

Hi

I have a 4x 18 x 18 set up and when I rearrange it some aggression and some of the fish go pink, but it all settles down eventually.

I'm guessing the fish are adult or sub adult as you can sex them, so how big is the tank? Do the what appear to be subdominant fish have anywhere to go? If not you may have the answer.

How mature is the tank? Though I wouldn't have thought this a problem as 4 are ok. Though different fish of the same species have a different tolerance level, I had a costly experience with Tropheus Moori, lost 5 out of 17. I now mature tanks with common ancistrus.

If the fish are young, then I wouldn't have thought aggression.

Can I ask where you got the fish, as I am expecting 7 and if from the same source, then I will rethink.

If I can think of anything else I'll let you know.

Good luck

Dave

I would agree with Barbie in the sense that we could do with a little more info, (oh.. and if you could go to your "profile" in the navbar at the top of the forum and put your location in please).

My first impression would quite simply be territorial disputes, but as barbie stated the behaiour or the fish could be brought about by undue stress in their environment.

Do you have plenty af areas in the tank for them to hide etc?

As dave stated if they are young there should not be any aggression, but as you mix of males and females, this would mean they are old enough to sex. i.e older that 18 months, in which case aggression is possible.

rob[/i]

ok first of all tank stats....the tank has been up and running for months...I had 10 fish in there previously before the zebras got here and then removed them. There is 6 caves, rock overhangs a sponge filter .
I add a nuetralizer to the water to make it 7.2 and also has a nitrate absorber from dr fosters. They seem to be doing ok but the male still looks a little rough. The 2 other males have found caves and have settled in but he is still going around looking but the female seems to be doing fine. Thanks and I will try to edit my profile. I am in south dakota

Glad to hear they're now doing OK.

I'm not sure what the people will say about this, different things work for different people.

I'm not a great fan of additives, but I am lucky I live in a soft water area and I think Scotland is soft water and there seems to be quite a success in breeding these areas.

Back in the 90's I kept a trio in London where the water is alkaline and very hard, just undergravel filtration and probably a lot of neglect, they did just fine, no breeding though, for this I thank this site.

Anyway for breeding I turn the water over 10 times an hour, also spray bars to keep the water well oxygenated. Water changes every 3 days, Mopani wood to keep the water slightly acidic, suppose bogwood would do the same.

If you have bred them, as I said earlier different things work, great, but I haven't come across a sponge filter that I would consider to have adequate turnover to create the necessary turnover of water to breed.

Take care

Dave

Well...I add the nuetralizer to the water before I add it to the fish and usually it is in the containner for a couple of days before adding. My ro water is 6.2 and my tap is 7.8 -8.0 but contains alot of metal and is extremely hard water. I try the 50/50 mix and then treat it for the chloramine and all that other good stuff. My tank is a 55 gallon that I have them in by the way. I really appreciate your help so I am going to ask something else. I was thinking about taking out the male that looks beat up, as he has yet to go into a cave and just sits under a stone shelf while the other have found caves, and move him and that female into a 10 gallon what do you think? Would it help him to make him alpha in that tank or just leave him at the bottom of the pecking order?
thanks again.