Poly being ostracized?

[clm08k]

My smaller female moke (moke 1)has been sitting in the left hand corner of the tank almost all day today. I saw her on the right side of the tank for a second. But the larger moke (moke 2) had the smaller mokes finlets in his mouth again. Moke 2 is so gentle, so it’s very bizarre. Over the past few days, the small moke(moke 1) is on one side and the other polys are on the opposite side of the tank.

Previously when the small female moke (moke 1) was in the tank 3 months ago, she was aggressive to all the other polys.She bit my albino and terrorized my delhezi. Now after reintroducing her to the tank after being in QT for 3 months(for aggression), it seems the larger polys are picking on her. Moke 1 gets along fine with the albino Senegal and the del. it appears she’s being bullied by moke 2 and sometimes the polli. The polli usually swims and runs into moke 1 and tries to move her. Moke 2 has been biting moke 1’s finlets. There are some holes in the finlets.

Can’t tell if she’s being ostracized, being put in her order of the dominance hierarchy or it’s mating behavior? How long do I let the polys figure it out? Are there any ways I can make the community more peaceful? Anybody else deal with a similar situation?

 

[DMD123]

Its a tough call as to how long to let it go on... it really depends on whats happening, if it is getting too rough.

In my tank the big endli goes through times where she shreds up and bites the side fins on the weeksii or the tail of the Koliba. It can get bad looking but I know it heals and is a necessary evil of owning the endli. I guess it really comes down to your threshold as to how much you think is too much.

 

[tlindsey]

If it's fins being ripped off and constant harassment I say aggression not mating behavior.

 

[Vancouver_98683]

My smaller female moke (moke 1)has been sitting in the left hand corner of the tank almost all day today. I saw her on the right side of the tank for a second. But the larger moke (moke 2) had the smaller mokes finlets in his mouth again. Moke 2 is so gentle, so it’s very bizarre. Over the past few days, the small moke(moke 1) is on one side and the other polys are on the opposite side of the tank.

Previously when the small female moke (moke 1) was in the tank 3 months ago, she was aggressive to all the other polys.She bit my albino and terrorized my delhezi. Now after reintroducing her to the tank after being in QT for 3 months(for aggression), it seems the larger polys are picking on her. Moke 1 gets along fine with the albino Senegal and the del. it appears she’s being bullied by moke 2 and sometimes the polli. The polli usually swims and runs into moke 1 and tries to move her. Moke 2 has been biting moke 1’s finlets. There are some holes in the finlets.

Can’t tell if she’s being ostracized, being put in her order of the dominance hierarchy or it’s mating behavior? How long do I let the polys figure it out? Are there any ways I can make the community more peaceful? Anybody else deal with a similar situation?

Yes

 

[twentyleagues]

yeah like I said with my teug. As long as its not to bad I wouldn't worry overmuch about it. They will sort out the hierarchy and hopefully its a gentle poly. Reprimands are going to happen for transgressions as long as they are not out of hand.

 

[magpie]

If there isn't a lot of damage it sounds more like what my Teug was doing to the Polli. It never amounted to a lot of damage, though there was a little, and they worked it out over time.

Sounds like it might be what is keeping her in check this time, as her aggression was much more damaging, and every other time you've had her in that tank she's been notably aggressive. I'd personally wait it out a bit. You could add more live/fake plants to break up the lines of sight more...?

Getting bumped by another poly isn't something I'd worry about at all, especially with the derp.

 

[jaws7777]

How bad is the damage ? I feel like the social/pecking order in poly comms is more complex than what we give them credit for.

I noticed with my group that every time i add/remove a poly some sort of change occurs within the group. If i remove the top dog it almost always results in a "new" top dog. Right now sp. Candy bar is the most aggressive. Ive seen her nip at the koloton and pbb nothing major BUT this is something shes never done prior to removing the ornate and sp.delaware.

If the aggression isnt causing majpr damage then i would leave it be and continue to monitor.

 

[twentyleagues]

How bad is the damage ? I feel like the social/pecking order in poly comms is more complex than what we give them credit for.

I noticed with my group that every time i add/remove a poly some sort of change occurs within the group. If i remove the top dog it almost always results in a "new" top dog. Right now sp. Candy bar is the most aggressive. Ive seen her nip at the koloton and pbb nothing major BUT this is something shes never done prior to removing the ornate and sp.delaware.

If the aggression isnt causing majpr damage then i would leave it be and continue to monitor.

+1 I think Plantface got put in its place and doeany like it so it's pouting. Hopefully it gets over it and becomes a member of the crew.

 

[DRteugelsi]

Well maybe he wasn't such a nerd, he could hang out with the cool kids! haha just kidding.

I bet its just temporary and as soon as things settle down. try moving some things around or changing some things up in their regular routine I.E. feeding schedule. that might help combat the problem.

trust me i went through weeks of it and then i switched some things around and boom things were okay (not perfect) but then my PBB committed suicide. which may have been a result of bullying but who knows. just dont let it get you down. that was one of the reasons i took a break from the hobby.

 

[magpie]

Yeah, and if it does get you down, then rehome a fish. It's sadly sometimes a necessary part of the hobby so that our tanks are relaxing to us and not stressful.

There are very few people on this site who haven't rehomed at least one fish due to aggression. It sucks but it can be a real relief after the fact.

I still think it's worth waiting out a bit with your crew.

Keep us updated!