female aggression

I've introduced two females into the same tank, both are young adults, (one weighs 50g, the other 40g) and the bigger one is acting aggressive towards the smaller one. She will come out of her hide , go to the smaller one's hide, and start to bite the base of her tail(pretty hard). The smaller one responds by biting the others head/neck, then the big one goes back to her hide, and repeats the process 5-10 min later. I assume she's asserting her dominance ,but I just want to know if you guys think this will go on for awhile, or it's something that they will work out soon. I don't want the little girl to lose her tail, is that a likely possibility? Thanks for any response

I have had this happen to me and my two female albinos.The bigger one bit her and went out of her way to do it.Your 2 females should be a little bit closer in weight.I would wait until they are 5 grams or less apart.Otherwise the bigger female will dominate the other one.I ended up seperating mine and that seemed to work for the better. I didnt want to risk them fighting and someone losing a tail. I hope it works out!!!

Dylan

I agree with Dylan. I would wait for a closer weight or even the same weight. Or meybe the large female hates other females...

In which case yes they can lose tails and bite into eachother leaving scabs. I've seen pictures of bullying on Google and it wasn't pretty. At least if it gets that bad. The solution is simple. Separate them for a little bit and then try it again when their weights closer.

It's always best to house leos individually. Females even of the same size, can and will fight, and may never like another leo with them unless it's a male and they are ovulating. I would separate them. If and when they are the same size and you'd like to try again, remove everything from the tank and clean it all and and the tank, then place everything back, then put them in at the same time. This way one is not defending "their" tank/territory. However be prepaired to have to separate them again.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've had them seperated since I posted yesterday and it looks like I'll keep them like that and try again when they get a little closer in size. thanks