I have two baby orandas and two baby ranchus, and today and yesterday the ranchus have been attacking the orandas non-stop.

The orandas are absolutely frazzled by the whole thing.

What could it be?

Video of the assault

I shouldn't laugh but that vid is brilliant! Looks to me like the ranchus are boys and are in the mood for love They won't care if the orandas are male or female, anything is fair game when the blood gets heated Goldies are programmed to think that anything fat is female, this can often lead to mistakes, I have a tank of males who spend a lot of time chasing each other about 'Brokeback Fishtank' style Boys have breeding spots on their gills and the leading edge of their pectoral fins, they are like little white spots, can be quite raised. My black ranchu is male and doesn't have spots on his gills as he has a bit of a headgrowth but he does have them on his fins. The other thing to look for is the vent - males have 'innies' and females have 'outies'. Ranchus are so funny when they are really going for it and swimming like the clappers

I'm afraid there is little you can do about it, once the boys have realised they are boys there's rarely any going back. Best thing to try is adding more cover like some cheap bunches of live plants. Water changes can trigger it as the slightly cooler water can set them off so maybe try and match water change temps.

You have two tanks if I remember right - I know you didn't want to mix the two rescue ones with the others but if things get too much for the orandas it might be worth a try

On another note, the current seems quite fierce, the oranda seems to be struggling to swim up the tank against the current from the airstone at the back - the piece of elodea tumbling about is a bit of a giveaway. You can turn down airstones by using a valve in the airline to lessen the flow of air - might be worth a try, these are the things:
http://www.rocketaquatics.co.uk/algar ... ml?language=en#googlebase

I bought mine from eBay so have a nosey on there for cheapest prices You need to have it so that the valve is between the pump and the airstone, then have an 'exhaust' piece of airline going from the other bit of the T piece to stop the sound of the pump coming through.

Hope all that makes sense

Or - you could put a divider in the tank, something like this:
http://www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/i ... ct&products_id=5410&cid=1

That would have to be a temporary measure though, and fish don't always understand cause and effect - if you try to get it on with your tank mates you'll be separated - so will probably revert to chasing about if you remove the divider (albeit with an innocent look on their faces and one eye on you for a reappearance of the divider )

But they're only babies :O

They start so young these days, I suppose you don't know what behaviour they picked up in the pet shops :(

We're watching over them today like disapproving parents.

I'll throw in some more cover for them - and thanks for the tip on the airstone - it's only on some of the time due to the noise and current, we've actually just switched it for a lower rated one, but I'll pick up a valve for it tomorrow as well.

But I think Ronnie and Reggie will be getting some overnight guests if this is how things are going to be, if even just for the sake of my own nerves.

My Albie was only about 4 months old when he started feeling frisky - his name is short for A Little B*gger so that should give a clue to his behaviour

I used to remove my late veiltail sometimes when he got too much for his tank mates, sometimes they do need a rest

This is why I have two tanks now ... boys and girls. Although one of the ones in the girls' tank is a boy, but I don't think he's noticed, or else at 10 years old he's lost interest! If Ronnie and Reggie are girls you might have found a solution - any idea if R&R are male or female?

No idea, they haven't shown any interest in anything other than food :/

I think I might just get a 3rd tank (sigh!) and separate them.

Would be worth trying them with the orandas, you'll soon know if they are boys I must admit I used to use my late veiltail if I wasn't sure - he chased the girls and never bothered with the boys, wasn't interested in them at all. He didn't like them much, pretenders to the throne. But girls ... that was a different matter. Or else you may find R&R are boys but not particularly red blooded and they get on ok. Check their vents and see if you can do a 'compare and contrast' on the black ranchus - it's sometimes easier to compare when you know for definite what sex one of them is

All very strange - the ranchus completely lost interest and now they're all the best of buds again!

However I now have a problem in the other tank - Reggie the normally inquisitive friendly goldfish has turned into a nervous wreck - jumping and darting away when we walk past the tank, refusing to come out for food until we walk away, and seems to be on high alert..
Very very unusual behaviour for him.

I'm learning that with goldfish, if its not one thing, it's another.

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watched the video.....Fishy porn, who would have thought it!

Excellent news on the reinstatement of harmony between ranchus and orandas Had you just done a water change when they started feeling frisky? Not even a goldie can go for it 24/7 so just keep an eye out for any over enthusiastic reocurrence

As for the jumpy one - has anything happened near the tank recently like a slamming door or dropping the lid on the tank or anything like that? Do they have plenty of live plants to hide in if feeling insecure? You haven't tried to catch him for anything? Does he have any other symtoms like flicking fins really fast like he's trying to shake something off, or flinging himself sideways at the gravel to scratch his sides, any clamped fins, or fluff or red patches/streaks?

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Never a truer word spoken