As I mentioned a few day's ago, I rescured a couple of banded killies from our bait tank at work.
While both have acclimated very well, the problem is that the smaller of the two has become extremely aggressive. I've honestly not seen anything like it, other then maybe the most aggressive of ciclid's I've had..and I'm not even sure they were at this level. It attacked anything that came within a foot of it(which in effect sequestered off a good part of the tank!). The shiners took the worse of it, because they did not fight back. Initially the mud minnows and flag fish both fought back, but I think they tired of it's constant attacks, and now just run! It's literally torn chunks of fins from the shiners, and removed scales from both the flag fish and mud minnows. Oddly, the larger of the killies is fine, indeed IT also suffers from attacks from the smaller one.
Anyway, tonight I made the decision to remove it. It's in a bucket at the moment, and I'm not sure yet what I will do with it...
Has anyone else experience this with banded killies...is it normal for them to be this nasty?
Extreme agressivness
Started by
Guest_Nightwing_*
, Jan 09 2008 11:03 PM
15 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_smilingfrog_*
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Posted 10 January 2008 - 04:13 AM
I have 2 left of 3 that were collected a few years ago. I was warned when we were dividing up the catch that the banded killies can be rather aggressive. They have all been very peaceful though. Actually they are about the most docile fish in the tank except maybe for a fantail darter. My experience with them is limited to those 3 individuals however. I have kept them in a 75 gallon tank with a few plants so they have plenty of space. Their tank mates include: spotfin shiners, rainbow and fantail darters, bluntnosed minnows, southern redbellied dace, a longnosed dace, and a stonecat.
#3
Guest_scottefontay_*
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Posted 10 January 2008 - 08:41 AM
Smilinfrog, I have had the same experience with the banded killies, pretty peaceful, however, I had the opposite experience with the fantail darters. They were down-right territorial. I wonder how much regional variation in behaviour patterns exist, or if it has something to do with tank-mates, or mother issues LOL 
#4
Guest_mikez_*
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Posted 10 January 2008 - 12:49 PM
By any chance has the aggressive one started showing a pretty blue highlite in its coloration? Maybe tinged with some yellow around the fins?
As a whole, banded killies [in my experience at least] are very peaceful schooling fish. They're almost always seen in schools of mixed sizes, sometimes mixed with juvie perch and even shiners. Everybody gets along great.
EXCEPT during breeding season. During the breeding season the adult males split off from the schools and set up individual territories, usually near a clump of weeds. They become very aggressive and attack anything that enters their space, especially other males kilies.
It's hard to believe those emaciated bait tank refugees could already be interested in breeding but maybe your tank is warm enough and your photoperiod long enough to have triggered the breeding urge.
If so, it's probably better to have seperated the male [smaller, aggressive] as I doubt the female [larger] is anywhere near ready. If he really is in breeding mood, he is just going to harrass the female into stress mode.
I have found bandeds a tad sensitive when it comes to stress or subpar husbandry. They seem to come down with fungus kinda easily.
As a whole, banded killies [in my experience at least] are very peaceful schooling fish. They're almost always seen in schools of mixed sizes, sometimes mixed with juvie perch and even shiners. Everybody gets along great.
EXCEPT during breeding season. During the breeding season the adult males split off from the schools and set up individual territories, usually near a clump of weeds. They become very aggressive and attack anything that enters their space, especially other males kilies.
It's hard to believe those emaciated bait tank refugees could already be interested in breeding but maybe your tank is warm enough and your photoperiod long enough to have triggered the breeding urge.
If so, it's probably better to have seperated the male [smaller, aggressive] as I doubt the female [larger] is anywhere near ready. If he really is in breeding mood, he is just going to harrass the female into stress mode.
I have found bandeds a tad sensitive when it comes to stress or subpar husbandry. They seem to come down with fungus kinda easily.
#6
Guest_Nightwing_*
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Posted 10 January 2008 - 06:36 PM
Well, the aggressive fish was actually the much less colorful of the two, it's remained very washed out sandy-grey, while the larger, non aggressive fish has taken on somewhat of the colors you mentioned although, not really anything in the fins..just a very nice almost "sea green blue/green sheen to the body, with strongly offset stripes. The smaller fish actually killed two of the shiners and a gamusia (they died overnight) before I removed it. It also did not seem to be staking out a singular territory unless it considered the entire tank as it's territory, as it roamed the entire tank, and just attacked everything.
It's still in the bucket, I've not decided if I'm going to have to euthanize it, or return it to the bait tank(thinking the former, as the latter would potentially allow it to be released..and it would just be cruel, honestly).
If it's a male, It's too bad it has become so violent, as I'd have liked to watch the interaction! But..the disruption of the rest of the tank is just not worth it.
It's still in the bucket, I've not decided if I'm going to have to euthanize it, or return it to the bait tank(thinking the former, as the latter would potentially allow it to be released..and it would just be cruel, honestly).
If it's a male, It's too bad it has become so violent, as I'd have liked to watch the interaction! But..the disruption of the rest of the tank is just not worth it.
#7
Guest_pmk00001_*
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Posted 10 January 2008 - 06:47 PM
By any chance has the aggressive one started showing a pretty blue highlite in its coloration? Maybe tinged with some yellow around the fins?
That sounds more like Mummichogs than Banded Killies.
FWIW I have both in my community tank, the banded are pretty peaceful, they spawn alot! I've got some Hornwort in the corners of my tank and they are in there splashing around quite a bit.
They are very peaceful though, they mostly seem to be in to each other.
The Mummichogs just started spawning a few days ago, after taking your advice and putting a little salt in with them they are thriving. They color up great, that blue and yellow tint is gorgeous.
#8
Guest_mikez_*
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Posted 10 January 2008 - 08:13 PM
That sounds more like Mummichogs than Banded Killies.
FWIW I have both in my community tank, the banded are pretty peaceful, they spawn alot! I've got some Hornwort in the corners of my tank and they are in there splashing around quite a bit.
They are very peaceful though, they mostly seem to be in to each other.
The Mummichogs just started spawning a few days ago, after taking your advice and putting a little salt in with them they are thriving. They color up great, that blue and yellow tint is gorgeous.
I thought of mummichug, especially as they are a popular bait species. Where he is in Michigan though I didn't think mummies were likely. Plus the picture looked more like a banded.
#9
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Posted 10 January 2008 - 08:51 PM
I am near Grand Rapids. I found out that our bait fish are trapped near Travers City(do not know the exact location), which is in the north west part of the Lower Peninsula, on Grand Traverse Bay (Lake Michigan). Lots of rivers and lakes up there though, so that's just a rough location. I do not believe we have Mummichogs anyplace in the state, and I am certain(or nearly so) that these are indeed banded.I thought of mummichug, especially as they are a popular bait species. Where he is in Michigan though I didn't think mummies were likely. Plus the picture looked more like a banded.
My guess is I just got a bad seed!
#12
Guest_Nightwing_*
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Posted 10 January 2008 - 10:49 PM
Butch, let me see how it does for a few days first. I've never shipped fish, so don't have any of the "gear" to do it...but I'll promise not to "get rid of it" and let you know!If you don't want the banded topminnow, ill take it away from you. Unless you don't want to.
#13
Guest_butch_*
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Posted 10 January 2008 - 11:58 PM
Yeah, ill let you thinking about "Aggro" for few days. Its just I love native killifish too much! If you find more killifish than you have from your work, ill take them too since they are already used to cold water, make easier for shipping out. Just let me know about it.
#15
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Posted 11 January 2008 - 06:51 PM
Butch, you you have quarantine facilities?Yeah, ill let you thinking about "Aggro" for few days. Its just I love native killifish too much! If you find more killifish than you have from your work, ill take them too since they are already used to cold water, make easier for shipping out. Just let me know about it.
The "meaniehead" is still doing OK in the bucket, but In doing an inspection of it today, I noticed a bit of fungus on the tail. I treated the bucket with antibiotic, but don't know if it will help or hurt(that was this morning...fish is fine this evening). If I get the dace that are hopefully still coming my way, I can always use the box they were shipped in, and perhaps even the bad(disinfected, of course)...so, let me see how that works out.
I'd really like to put him back in..but at this point, I just think it would end up the same way.
#16
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Posted 11 January 2008 - 06:51 PM
Yeah...I'm honestly wondering if that's just what happened here...I got an oddball.I've had several banded killies and they've all been peaceful except for one - and that fish was the meanest most aggressive fish I have ever kept.
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