We had a hurricane come through here not that long ago. As part of the prep for it, I had brought in some of the fish and turtles in the smaller ponds outside so they didn't get flooded out or blown off or whatever it is that happens, since you know, I've never had to deal with a hurricane before.

I have one managuensis here who I've mentioned in the past that generally acts like a koi. She's mellow enough that I can hand feed her, and she's never been aggressive to anything. In all fairness, nothing she's ever been in has been aggressive to her either. She was outside for the summer living with some Asian boxies and a leaf turtle, and there has never been a spot of trouble.

Inside, there's a 75 that has two smaller (one is 6 inches the other is close to pacu. I decided to put the managuensis in with those two just until the storm blew over. I didn't have anything else cycled that either she'd be safe in or the other tank inhabitants would be safe in.

Everything was just fine until the third day, when the smaller pacu decided it was going to start shoving the managuensis around. Now, I've never kept managuensis before this one, I've only heard from Wyite about how nasty they can be. So, while I believed him at the same time I had never seen it so I was not at all expecting (and in the span of about 45 seconds too) the managuensis to grab the pacu by the upper lip, slam it into the corner of the tank, remove part of the upper lip on the pacu breaking free from the collision and then her slamming into the side of the pacu just behind the gills and removing scales.

I dropped what I was doing, and pulled out the managuensis and moved her in with the asian boxies inside. Depth wise the tub was a far more shallow than I would have liked, since it was only about a foot deep, but later on that evening she went back to being her normal mellow self. Had I not lucked out and been there I honestly think that pacu would have been an ex-pacu.

It does make me wonder why the mix with the turtles keeps working. It can't be entirely based on them mutually ignoring each other, can it?

Manganese is required as a trace element for most fish, never heard of it bein' agressive though. Strange. Oh, ya mean the managuensis...

Yeah, I would think the mutual disregard for the other is the reason for the success with the turtles. No competition for space or resources and no similarities in shape to incite agression.

WYite

Doh. I have been thwarted by auto correct on my tablet.

I've since gone and fixed it in my original post, but I just realized tonight, since I was talking to someone else about her that if I type managuensis in my tablet it auto corrects it to manganese.