Black Widow Weird Behaviour...

[James Bond the fish]

Basically, my Black Widows are acting very strangely. About four of them will swim very close together, and single out one other widow, swimming around it at high-speed. I can't quite tell if they bully it or if they're trying to have an orgy with it, but it's not the same widow, of the six I have they seem to randomly find one to swim around for a bit, almost like a little dance where they're constantly switching dance partners. I've made a video of how they are (it shows it best around the half way mark) but they've been doing this for a few weeks now. Any ideas...?

Vid: http/uk.youtube.com/watch?v=K7FuhdqUd7c

 

[buttercupbabe078]

I read somewhere when I got my black widows that females are generally larger than the males. So could it be that the males are swimming round the females?

 

[James Bond the fish]

I read somewhere when I got my black widows that females are generally larger than the males. So could it be that the males are swimming round the females?

I'll see if it's the smaller ones chasing the bigger, but I think it's going both-ways to be honest. I do a mix of small widows and HUGE ones, which all started off the same size.

 

[Lateral Line]

It is difficult to be sure as the film is a bit shaky, but it appeared t me that several times after the little conflagrations, the other fish in the tank zoomed to the site. I am wondering if the female is expelling eggs, and the other fish are happily eating them.

In reasonable conditions BW's will scatter eggs. In small tanks, the frenetic activity you describe sounds about right.

 

[roseK]

too me, it seems they are just nipping at each other