Grouper gone crazy....

[jennln]

I was prepared for the clown trigger to go psycho eventually....but the grouper too? Really? This guy was the last addition to the tank, and is nowhere near the biggest fish in the tank, but has become the biggest bully. For awhile he kept to himself.....more of a hider than anything else only coming out openly for extended periods of time while feeding. Suddenly he has decided that the tank is allllllllll his. He will chase, ram and nip any of the other fish that come out and about. At feeding time forget it - everything is HIS. I've seen him gobble up so many pieces at once that I swear I thought he was going to choke on it. He'd have his mouth packed full to the point it wouldn't close and would then hang out on the bottom and take a good two minutes to get it down. He's fast too - comes flying out of nowhere and seems to catch the others off guard - by the time they realize they are a target, he's already done the deed and is back in his safe haven. What is going on?

 

[hammerhed7]

your grouper did not go crazy, your grouper went grouper. This is typical behavior for may groupers, and will continue as the grouper grows. What kind of grouper? tank size etc.

 

[jennln]

Normal....oy. I may have to reconfigure my future plans and switch some of the intended tankmates to different tanks. Well as long as it's typical behavior then at least I have no reason to be concerned per se. He's a red v-tail - the one staring down the wrasse in my av (although that was when he was still a nice guy). Right now I'm sure he's truly po'ed because he's not in his nice roomy tank - he's in qt. Halfway through hypo - 2 weeks to go.

 

[crypt keeper]

type of grouper size of tank and size of grouper

 

[jag2232]

Sounds like my Miniatus grouper, he's just doing what he does best isn't really a big community type of fish. I keep him with my two eels that he doesn't bother, but I bought him with the expectation that he would be aggressive and he is. He's the kind of fish in the wild that would find a cave or a pile of rocks that he'd live in and police around defending his territory from other fish, so him doing that in your tank is just instinct. You might be able to keep one in a community setting with a bunch of large, aggressive fish that would fight back against it, but mine swims faster than any fish I've ever owned so I couldn't picture too many doing well against him.

 

[insane96]

Originally Posted by jennln
http:///forum/post/2941347
I was prepared for the clown trigger to go psycho eventually....but the grouper too? Really? This guy was the last addition to the tank, and is nowhere near the biggest fish in the tank, but has become the biggest bully. For awhile he kept to himself.....more of a hider than anything else only coming out openly for extended periods of time while feeding. Suddenly he has decided that the tank is allllllllll his. He will chase, ram and nip any of the other fish that come out and about. At feeding time forget it - everything is HIS. I've seen him gobble up so many pieces at once that I swear I thought he was going to choke on it. He'd have his mouth packed full to the point it wouldn't close and would then hang out on the bottom and take a good two minutes to get it down. He's fast too - comes flying out of nowhere and seems to catch the others off guard - by the time they realize they are a target, he's already done the deed and is back in his safe haven. What is going on?
what kind of grouper are you talking about but that is true i have a panther grouper and he is getting huge and they will bully around to get large amounts of food mine does that all the time what is your grouper living with

 

[hammerhed7]

I wouldn't worry so much about him killing your other fish from attacking them, as groupers go v tails are known to be less aggressive and stay small for a grouper at about 11". The problem with groupers is that they make it difficult to feed anything in the tank except the grouper. I had a blue spot that did the same thing, and ate every bit of food I put in, and he was leaving the other fish starving. I gave the grouper to a guy with a 500 gal with huge triggers that could compete for food.

 

[sean48183]

If I remember correctly you had these guys in a 75 gallon or something of the sorts. Have you upgraded tanks or are they still in smaller confines? A bigger tank would definately help this but I wouldn't worry too much about it if he is spreading the aggression out equally among all your fish. Unless they are not eating enough and from your avitar I see a paddlefin wrasse and I have a hard time believing he is getting enough food. I have a 6" tomato clown that pounds everyfish that swims buy but he is equally brutal on all fish and not one in paticular. This has been going on for 3 years and noone is worse for the wear.

 

[jennln]

Originally Posted by sean48183
http:///forum/post/2946630
If I remember correctly you had these guys in a 75 gallon or something of the sorts. Have you upgraded tanks or are they still in smaller confines? A bigger tank would definately help this but I wouldn't worry too much about it if he is spreading the aggression out equally among all your fish. Unless they are not eating enough and from your avitar I see a paddlefin wrasse and I have a hard time believing he is getting enough food. I have a 6" tomato clown that pounds everyfish that swims buy but he is equally brutal on all fish and not one in paticular. This has been going on for 3 years and noone is worse for the wear.
Good memory! His aggression is definitley spread equally. Actually temporarily their confines are much worse. Their tank is currently running fishless, while they are in qt ~ I had an ich outbreak. Thankfully Beth held my hand through learning the hypo treatment, we're about halfway through, ich hasn't been visible in weeks and everyone is acting healthy again. In another two weeks I'll start raising salinity and hopefully in about 3.5 weeks they can start moving back to their own home.

 

[srfisher17]

Have you ever seen any source that considered any grouper anything other than "aggressive"? I haven't.

 

[jennln]

Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/2949925
Have you ever seen any source that considered any grouper anything other than "aggressive"? I haven't.
Yes actually The "professional" (and I use that term loosely) that I paid to set up and stock my tank. I was told that this was a more passive fish that would be able to defend himself against the more aggressive tankmates he was being placed with. Obviously now I'm realizing that was my mistake and I'm trying to correct the error by utilizing the resources I've now found to make informed, responsible, decisions.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by jennln
http:///forum/post/2950605
Yes actually The "professional" (and I use that term loosely) that I paid to set up and stock my tank. I was told that this was a more passive fish that would be able to defend himself against the more aggressive tankmates he was being placed with. Obviously now I'm realizing that was my mistake and I'm trying to correct the error by utilizing the resources I've now found to make informed, responsible, decisions.
Good plan!........and there is always an exception to every "rule" when it comes to fish behavior.

 

[sean48183]

The only advise I can give you is try to get a bigger tank for this guy or take him back. I think by himself in a smaller tank that is filtered right he would be ok but with other tank mates there just isn't enough room for him to escape his wrath.