I agree. The only time I have ever seen something like this work in my Tropheus colonies is by isolating the fish that has been picked-on until he/she has recovered- usually a few weeks- then add the fish back to the colony after having completely rearranged the rockwork etc. in the tank. What seems to work best for me is to remove all the rockwork, and then to add it back to the tank little-by-little. It's my opinion that getting the fish back into the colony has more to do with the rearranged aquascaping than the 'time out.' But the social structure of a Tropheus colony is completely different from a tank of male peacocks, so I have no idea if this would work for you. Re-homing would seem to be the most straightforward solution. Good luck.DJRansome said:... I have tried "time out" with the idea to return the fish to the tank several times, with varying lengths of time away, and it has never worked. The same situation develops again...
I agree. My acei do not stand a chance to the zebras in the tank, despite being very similar size. As a result, the zebras get the rocks. Whenever I try to rearrange the rocks, the acei dominant male thinks he has a shot against the zebra dominant male, and they fight it out. This is where I have seen the worst damage to the acei, with many of it's fins nipped, and scales missing. It has been 6 months since I have rearranged the rocks, and my acei, including the dominant male, have their fins fully extended, and not so much as a nipped fin. They still do get chased away from the rocks by the zebras if they get to close, but at least there is peace.DJRansome said:Also not a peacock story, but rearranging rocks. I did this once with a relatively peaceful demasoni colony thinking to improve things even more. World War III broke out and things got worse. My first experience with bloat. Changing the aquascape does not always improve things.