always a sorority problem.

[kellyyoungmoney]

i have a 4 girl sorority in my 10 gallon(im working on getting a 5th but no money.) theres one fish ive had in there all the time, a little pink/purple shimmery girl who always seems to be perky and keeps out of trouble. and every time she gets a nip or 2 shes always fine and is never bothered. well lately she has become very lethargic and lost a lot of color on her body and has no visible injuries. shes still eating(not a lot, but at least 1 pellet twice a day) but she stay away from the other girls and rests a lot. i really need to vacuum the gravel and take all the fish out but im afraid taking her out will stress her out or when i put everybody back in she'll get hurt. i have a separate 1/2 gal tank i can put her in so she can get better but i dont have a heater for it.

ive asked tons of similar questions to this but ive never succeeded in keeping the fish in question alive.

[shellieca]

They don't need to be removed to vac the gravel. Mine all stay in & usually are nosy enough to investigate the tube of the vac. She may be more bothered by the other girls than you think. I had 3 in a 10g but it wasn't working, they're now in a 46g & the one chases a certain other one, there's no physical damage on the chasee but I can see when she's stressed by it. I have 2 more in QT that'll be joining the 3 in the 46g & I'm hoping that'll help. If it doesn't help Rosie, the bully may be getting her own 10g. Do you have a lot of plants & caves? That helps Violet escape & settle down.

[kellyyoungmoney]

yeah i have lots of big leafy plastic and silk plants in my tank and 2 medium sized caves. but i removed her and put her in the 1/2 gal with a heater i got from another tank and she seems to be less stressed already but shes still clamped and somewhat lethargic. i think ill just keep her in there until she colors back up and seems to be healthy again.