Monos

RedPeasant · Post by **RedPeasant** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:03 pm

Recently got two mono, they were introduce to the tank with a difference of one day. The bigger one was introduce first and the next day bought a second one which is smaller (planning to buy more two same size as first mono but lfs out of stock ).

Now the bigger mono is chasing my smaller one to the extend that it is hiding behind the intake tube. Too afraid to even come out to feed and had turn black instead of the usually silver and yellow.

Is there anything i can do to let them live together peacefully or at least reduce the bullying?

groovitudedude · Post by **groovitudedude** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:06 pm

A description of the tank would help us figure out a solution (size, other tankmates, decor, etc.).

RedPeasant · Post by **RedPeasant** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:15 pm

Round 10 mollies, one 5 cm gsp, 2 F8 and a blue crayfish.

55 gallon tank which is 3 feet long.

Gravel is sand with low decor like slates and some shells

Lighting set PL 36 watt

Iliveinazoo · Post by **Iliveinazoo** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:18 am

Mono's are schooling fish and people seem to compare the species with Scats as I believe that they have the same sort of needs and temperment.

I don't have Mono's but I do have Scats and I had the same problem; I had 2 & one chased the other constantly to prove his dominance so I bought 3 more - it sorted the problem right out. I thought that the big scat would do the same amount of chasing but that the anger would spread around the school but the chasing has almost completely stopped (I say almost because I might catch him chasing the others once a month or so).

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 1:57 pm

Agreed--2 of any schooling species, usually ends up with one pestering the other one to death. You should also look into the adult sizes & SG requirements for these fish. A school of them will require at least a 300g marine tank.

RedPeasant · Post by **RedPeasant** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:44 pm

The bullying had tone down a little, the colour on the smaller mono is back but he is still in a corner so feeding is a problem.
I will take Iliveinazoo advice to get a 3rd mono the only problem now is that my LFS is currently out of stock and the owner is not sure when the next batch of monos will come in.

According to nmonks website:

The monos I own are Monodactylus kottelati.

They are a small species that said to reach no more than 8 cm in the wild.

They are not fussy about salinity, though adults at least fare best in moderate to high-end systems (SG 1.010 upwards).

My current salinity is 1.005 and the monos are just a 5cm and 7cm (est). Planning to increase the salinity by 0.001 every water change till it hit 1.010. On the side note, Is F8 okay with 1.010 water salinity?

Iliveinazoo · Post by **Iliveinazoo** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 9:07 am

RedPeasant wrote:The bullying had tone down a little, the colour on the smaller mono is back but he is still in a corner so feeding is a problem.
I will take Iliveinazoo advice to get a 3rd mono the only problem now is that my LFS is currently out of stock and the owner is not sure when the next batch of monos will come in.

According to nmonks website:

The monos I own are Monodactylus kottelati.

They are a small species that said to reach no more than 8 cm in the wild.

They are not fussy about salinity, though adults at least fare best in moderate to high-end systems (SG 1.010 upwards).

My current salinity is 1.005 and the monos are just a 5cm and 7cm (est). Planning to increase the salinity by 0.001 every water change till it hit 1.010. On the side note, Is F8 okay with 1.010 water salinity?

I doubt that the bullying will stop with just 2 - you might be lucky with 3 but It's a risk because it's not a very big school - i would say 5. People have problems with certain schooling fishes if adding more than 1 at a time to an established 'group'.

Nmonks book states that figure 8's can be maintained at 1.010 but i've not heard of anyone keeping them above 1.006 it would be nice to know if someone has tried it and if the figure 8 is still alive or can tell if it lived a long and healthy life at 1.010?

It sounds like the Mono may be ok at lower salinities but the GSP would do better at or above 1.010

RedPeasant · Post by **RedPeasant** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 1:41 pm

Iliveinazoo wrote: People have problems with certain schooling fishes if adding more than 1 at a time to an established 'group'.

So you mean i can on add one mono at a time to an established group instead of throwing three in at once? Why?
Btw do you think 5 monos is suitable for a 55 gallon tank?

I will try keeping the F8 in 1.010 salinity and report what happened.

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:12 pm

http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/Projects/FAQ/3a.html

RedPeasant · Post by **RedPeasant** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:52 am

Understood. Was just hoping that maybe i can have 5 of them.

Iliveinazoo · Post by **Iliveinazoo** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:03 pm

RedPeasant wrote:
Iliveinazoo wrote: People have problems with certain schooling fishes if adding more than 1 at a time to an established 'group'.
So you mean i can on add one mono at a time to an established group instead of throwing three in at once? Why?
Btw do you think 5 monos is suitable for a 55 gallon tank?

I will try keeping the F8 in 1.010 salinity and report what happened.

Don't know why I said more i meant that it wasn't recommended to add 1 at a time because the newcomer may get harrassed to death.

RedPeasant · Post by **RedPeasant** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 3:46 am

Will it be okay if the newcomer is of the same or bigger size? and how about taking all the monos out of the tank and putting them back together with the new comer?

Iliveinazoo · Post by **Iliveinazoo** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:19 am

RedPeasant wrote:Will it be okay if the newcomer is of the same or bigger size? and how about taking all the monos out of the tank and putting them back together with the new comer?

I don't know - If you don't go for a multiple addition then I would guess that a bigger one is less likely to be picked on.

You could try putting them all together somewhere esle for a while but if it's only a short period of time then i'd guess that it wouldn't make much difference. You could try putting them together in a bucket while you rearrange the decor and then pop them back in?

RedPeasant · Post by **RedPeasant** » Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:32 pm

haha. That sounds like a good idea, will try that once my LFS restock and thanks for all the help and advice.

define999 · Post by **define999** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:10 am

I am in the same boat! My fiance had bought one mono argentis to see how he would get along with Gaby our GSP. They got along fine, now we recently bought 2 more monos.... thinking the one needed some freinds being a schooling fish. The first one is bigger as well.... hes really harrasing the new 2. To the point where I think he could kill both of them. Whats interesting is he only really does it when humans are looking into the tank. He knows when he sees humans that food could be coming... hes a smart little dude. So i think hes more territorial when he thinks foods coming... the good news is my tank is heavily planted. So the smaller 2 are hiding pretty good..... im hopeing over time the pecking order is stablized.... Good luck, and wish me some too.....

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