So your harem of clowns not getting along?
The bad aggression was the mocha gladiators against the Vivid Fancy that I had (and gave away). I think it was big enough to pose a threat to the bonded pair. But once I took it out, the aggression from the bonded pair stopped completely. They ignore all the other males, except for body checking them while eating. The rest of the males (except the fancy white gladiator) wait their turn to eat.
The Fancy white that I'm selling is actually the only one that's a bit bigger. He's pretty bold and gets along well with the bonded pair. He is the only one, however, bullying anyone else. The aggression isn't much during the day and not when feeding. When evening comes and the lights start to dim, he does a fair amount of head butting with every male (other than the alpha). During feeding, he'll chase away the other males until he's done eating.
I don't think the aggression is bad right now with him, but I'm thinking of isolating him in a breeder box (I'm getting it tomorrow in the mail) to see what happens. Put up the for sale just in case.
A few thoughts:
- Maybe it just takes one male to keep the pecking order in check, and this behavior is actually fine in the long run
- This one male is checking on 4 other males, so the aggression is spread out and probably not bad enough to be unhealthy
- Even if I remove this male, some other male will step up and do the same. So I'd either have to let it happen and hope it's ok in the long run, or give them away until the number will dwindle down to 3?
So I'll try to find a buyer, but in the meantime I might try isolating him for a day or so and see what happens to the group.
By the way, my circus is currently 7:
2x mocha gladiators (fem, alpha male)
2x Fancy White Gladiators (one 1.3", the other 1")
2x Fancy White Extreme (one 1", the other slightly larger)
1x Mocha (1")
The bioload is actually OK right now. 10ppm nitrates and 4ppb phosphates.