help firefish fighting

[fishgardener]

I have a purple firefish and a regular orange firefish who have lived peacefully in my 40 gal for over a year. All of a sudden the orange one is chasing the purple all over the place, to the point it hides and gets little to eat. Why fight now?? Tank is not crowded, rocks haven't been rearranged or any other recent changes I can think of. Catching either of them is impossible. They are fast. I really like the purple guy and don't want him to starve. Do they eat pods? It is an established tank with a sump, so I do have pods. Any ideas anyone?

Sheryle :confused2:

 

[tjherman]

Maybe you can rearrange the rock work near their holes so you reset their territories? If you can't catch them, confusing them sounds like a good alternative. You could also try a fish trap and removing the flame, I bet. I've got a purple and a flame together as well, but they're so close right now they stay in the same hole.

 

[smoothie]

They eat out of the water column not out of the nooks and crannies of rocks where pods stay during the day.
I would say they have hit maturity and are claining their own turf. More established/dominant one being the reg firefish is going to win. Try a mirror or taping pictures to the side of the tank to give the firefish something to flex at while the purple eats

 

[darren24]

I had to separate mine....

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Many people think firefish are good group fish- sadly this is wrong. Way too often, they will eventually start fighting. Youll need to remove one.

 

[fishgardener]

Thanks for the advice. I have a 20 gal that I can put one of them in but it will be crowded and it is not covered at this time. I guess I'll have to give whichever one I can catch to my son, Blake. He has already gleefully offered to take one off my hands. They were so cute together before. They shared the same hole and swam together. I guess maturity has reared its ugly side. :sad: