Ok Plexperts, what would cause my commons to suddenly start scrapping? They have lived together in harmony for two years, we got them December 2005, but this morning, two of them were having some sort of plec-war involving pushing against each other with their heads and a few fins. Didn't look very friendly, but they weren't actually hooking it up yet.
Can something have changed that is affecting their behaviour? I would have imagined that they were mature adults a lot earlier then this, so it's probably not because the younger became a teenager and started getting stroppy.
They are in our 6ft (about 100gallons?), they both usually have places they call their own. They usually just pretty much lay about on the bottom under bits of wood until they detect I am going to feed them, then everyone comes out and zooms round. This incident occurred on neutral ground, up the side of the tank, on the back, sort of suckered to the glass.
We believe that Malcolm is actually a female, and that Nessie is a male - bad luck guys, you just looked like cool fish when you were little, so you didn't get gender appropriate names, but oh well. Malcolm is the larger of the two, but they are both over a foot each. Malcolm is 10 and Nessie is maybe 3 (we didn't have Nessie from a baby, and we don't have any history).
Do you think they probably usually have a bit of argy-bargy that we don't notice or has something changed for them and this is what we're seeing? I haven't changed anything in the tank for months - maybe a year - except the water, and the last water change was a week ago, but this is a regular thing that doesn't usually upset them.
I know they say commons sometimes fight but ours usually don't, and they have been together a long time. I am concerned that something is up and they are reacting to it. Do you think they are just being plecs? Any suggestions welcomed.
Can something have changed that is affecting their behaviour? I would have imagined that they were mature adults a lot earlier then this, so it's probably not because the younger became a teenager and started getting stroppy.
They are in our 6ft (about 100gallons?), they both usually have places they call their own. They usually just pretty much lay about on the bottom under bits of wood until they detect I am going to feed them, then everyone comes out and zooms round. This incident occurred on neutral ground, up the side of the tank, on the back, sort of suckered to the glass.
We believe that Malcolm is actually a female, and that Nessie is a male - bad luck guys, you just looked like cool fish when you were little, so you didn't get gender appropriate names, but oh well. Malcolm is the larger of the two, but they are both over a foot each. Malcolm is 10 and Nessie is maybe 3 (we didn't have Nessie from a baby, and we don't have any history).
Do you think they probably usually have a bit of argy-bargy that we don't notice or has something changed for them and this is what we're seeing? I haven't changed anything in the tank for months - maybe a year - except the water, and the last water change was a week ago, but this is a regular thing that doesn't usually upset them.
I know they say commons sometimes fight but ours usually don't, and they have been together a long time. I am concerned that something is up and they are reacting to it. Do you think they are just being plecs? Any suggestions welcomed.
