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Deleted member 149562
Guest
So we all have our aquariums, many varieties of fish in them...we all enjoy just sitting and watching our fish
But do you REALLY watch them?
Do you know who is top dog, who is in the "in crowd" and who is struggling to fit in or is being bullied?
Do you know how to interpret your fish body language?
For example...the Betta
This fish has a very specific body language that is even more open when in a community aquarium setting and regardless of male or female.
The first sign that something is up......the Betta will lightly shield floating food with the tail and/or fins. After a few days or weeks that will escalate to tighter hugging of floating food and chasing/hugging sinking food
After a while the other fish in the aquarium will stay away from the feed hatch, gradually lowering their level in the aquarium and going for the odd scrap of food but not eagerly or in a relaxed way. You'll then start seeing the Betta "allowing" fish to swim past but he or she will snap their body back as if to nip the other fish.....this again will escalate over a short time til contact is made and the target fish has torn fins or tail or loses an eye or other body damage.
Slowly but surely the other fish will turn their back to the Betta, stay out of its way, always take last place at feed time....the target fish that the Betta has chosen will receive more injuries, become severely stressed and this will continue until that target is dead.
The killer attack generally happens after lights out at night. You only discover that something is wrong the next day and you have a dead or dying fish on the substrate.
The CAE (Chinese Algae Eater) is another one that you need to know how to handle. Ideally they should not be sold but they are and its important to know that they should never be placed in an aquarium with slow moving, slab sided fish like Gourami. Reason being is that they only eat algae when very young. They do not eat algae when fully grown (and they can, in the right conditions grow to over 6 inches long). Their preferred food is another fish's slimecoat. They will latch onto the side of a Gourami or similar fish after dark when the fish is dozing and it will scrape the slimecoat off along with a few scales, leaving a nasty graze like wound that is heavily infected. There is no cure for a fish that has been attacked by a CAE, it is a slow and painful death
To give an idea of how aggressive a CAE can be....this is footage, not mine, of a CAE taking on a Rainbow Shark...
So especially new fishkeepers, next time you sit and watch your fish....don't just watch them, study them cos you might just pick up behaviour that you need to deal with. All fish are capable of behaving badly, there will always be weaker fish that are bullied......if you can learn to identify behavioural traits in your fish you could save yourself and your fish a whole lot of problems such as fighting and bullying
But do you REALLY watch them?
Do you know who is top dog, who is in the "in crowd" and who is struggling to fit in or is being bullied?
Do you know how to interpret your fish body language?
For example...the Betta
This fish has a very specific body language that is even more open when in a community aquarium setting and regardless of male or female.
The first sign that something is up......the Betta will lightly shield floating food with the tail and/or fins. After a few days or weeks that will escalate to tighter hugging of floating food and chasing/hugging sinking food
After a while the other fish in the aquarium will stay away from the feed hatch, gradually lowering their level in the aquarium and going for the odd scrap of food but not eagerly or in a relaxed way. You'll then start seeing the Betta "allowing" fish to swim past but he or she will snap their body back as if to nip the other fish.....this again will escalate over a short time til contact is made and the target fish has torn fins or tail or loses an eye or other body damage.
Slowly but surely the other fish will turn their back to the Betta, stay out of its way, always take last place at feed time....the target fish that the Betta has chosen will receive more injuries, become severely stressed and this will continue until that target is dead.
The killer attack generally happens after lights out at night. You only discover that something is wrong the next day and you have a dead or dying fish on the substrate.
The CAE (Chinese Algae Eater) is another one that you need to know how to handle. Ideally they should not be sold but they are and its important to know that they should never be placed in an aquarium with slow moving, slab sided fish like Gourami. Reason being is that they only eat algae when very young. They do not eat algae when fully grown (and they can, in the right conditions grow to over 6 inches long). Their preferred food is another fish's slimecoat. They will latch onto the side of a Gourami or similar fish after dark when the fish is dozing and it will scrape the slimecoat off along with a few scales, leaving a nasty graze like wound that is heavily infected. There is no cure for a fish that has been attacked by a CAE, it is a slow and painful death
To give an idea of how aggressive a CAE can be....this is footage, not mine, of a CAE taking on a Rainbow Shark...
So especially new fishkeepers, next time you sit and watch your fish....don't just watch them, study them cos you might just pick up behaviour that you need to deal with. All fish are capable of behaving badly, there will always be weaker fish that are bullied......if you can learn to identify behavioural traits in your fish you could save yourself and your fish a whole lot of problems such as fighting and bullying
