Which tropical fish is eating tail fins ? !

[Dillon]

Hi all, great community tank you got here, I've got back into aquariums 6 months ago after 20 years.
I got referred here by the guy at Ageofaquariums, time for my first post and not happy Jan  >:(

I already have a 2ft tank with small Oz natives in it and they get along fine now.


I wanted some tropical colour on my home office desk so put together a 26L rectangular tank, all small at the moment, 15-20mm long. Some lil bugger is biting my other small fishes' tails off ...


1xmale guppy, 2xfemale guppies
2xclown loaches
2xbumblebee gobies
2xzebra danios
4xneon tetras
1xalbino bristlenose (deceased today, tail gone)

All but one female guppy has bits of tail missing (prime suspect is one female with perfect tail)
The 2xclown loaches and 2xbumblebee gobies stick to the gravel and have perfect tails.
The 2xzebra danios are fast and have perfect tails but only chase each other around.
The 4xneon tetras all have tails shredded or missing.

I have read of guppies being tail nippers, do you people think the female guppy with the perfect tail is the suspect ?
I need to make a decision very soon, if it could be her I will feed her to the natives ... literally.

Thanks for your educated responses.

[braddo]

Definately the guppies more than likely the male as this is how he tries to get the females to mate. Bumble bee goby's are well known tail nippers as well which would more than likely be targeting the neons as they stay closer to the gravel.

[Savage_roo]

I would lok at the 2xbumblebee gobies

Thay are fin nipers I have had them be 4
So i would feed them a little more it might stop or slow the niping down

Roo

[Dillon]

Thanks guys, but one of the BB's has a little nip in his tail but after watching them carefully they do go slow but when another fish comes close they sort of have a dart and the other fish panics like its happened before, the gobies don't even compete for food.
If it was them it would stand to reason that's how the albino pleco lost his tail.

The male guppy and one female has bits of tail missing, but one female guppy is perfect ...

Also I said Clown Loaches whereas that should be Pakistani Loaches, but they stick to themselves.

I don't know which way to go now ...

[aquaholic99]

Second the opinion it is the Bumble Bee Gobies. I would also recommend a couple more Zebra Danios if possible since they like to school. Get at least one more if space is tight since one fish can at least see 2 others.

Bumble Bees are fin nippers and Neons sleep on bottom at night. I dont think feeding them any more will make a difference. Try seperating the bumblee bees for at least week if your unsure.

Winston

[Dillon]

hmmm my wife won't be happy it's the BB's  :-\   :D

[Dead Fish Floating]

Yep it's the bumble bees.
Heh heh.
That said they are pretty cool in a species tank.
Add some kuhli loaches and ya got one wacked out 1 foot cube.
:D

[Dillon]

Well the 15mm BB's went into the native tank with an 80mm Sleepy Cod and a smaller cod and Rainbows ... they're still there a week later ! if a little subdued in their behaviour. The bigger cod decided instead to eat a new Rainbow which was more than half his size ! crazy fool is gonna choke himself sometime ... tail was sticking out of his mouth for a day.