Fin nipping

Question
Hi,

I have recently bought a fancy tailed goggle eyed goldfish to keep my existing veiltail company. The goggle eye is slightly smaller than the veil tail but not by much. For the first week they seemed fine together, they did chase each other a bit but it seemed non-aggressive. I have noticed in the last few days the behaviour of the new fish (Joe) becoming more aggressive and the original fish (Gill) seems a bit frightened (he keeps hiding and swimming away at speed when Joe comes near). Also Gill's tail seems a bit raggedy. I haven't noticed any bits of his tail in the water but I am concerned Joe is taking chunks of it. How can we stop this behaviour? Should we return the new one to the shop?

I appreciate your help with this,

Lizzie

Answer
Hi Lizzie,
There realy isnt any way to stop fin nipping and pestering between fish. Fish can choose if they want to be non-aggressive or aggressive. In my years of having fish i have noticed that in the same species of fish, whether big or small, choose there personality. I once had a Male Betta (very very aggressive fish toward the opposite gender) who was pretty big and i put him beside a tank with a female in it, usualy they will both show aggression towards each other but in this case they loved each other. I put him in the same tank as her (bad idea because he could kill her) and they swam in harmony with no aggression at all. So, Anyway, the only way to stop this would be to take the new fish back to the store and talk to the specalist and ask them what kind of friend would be best for Gill.
Hope This Helps

Kyle