Sorority

[beanz8]

Thank you lil fishie

i guess when the day comes to go get them (hoping next weekend) if the worst comes to it i can always take a mirror with me - i know girls dont have beards, the lfs has got good reviews and they do keep their males seperated from other fish.

Another question reguarding the dominant fish - if i pick ones which seem submissive (and probably will have their tail fins a bit nopped) will they be more likely to get over agressive in a new tank? or will they stay more submissive (i know they will have to sort out a hierarcy)

p.s sorry for all the questions

 

[LilyRose Tank]

I just 6 females. I think 4 are possibly males. I wish Lfs would learn to tell difference

 

[LadyDragon]

Questions are a GOOD thing!
I say never stop being curious, life is an ongoing work-in-progress and we never stop learning. =)

One never can tell what any individual will do when the circumstances change. The most submissive and bullied (fish, horses, dogs, cats, parrots, people etc) can often become the most dominant when you change their company. I recently had a Mollie who went from being the most bullied in her group to the total alpha! The little girl was really the bottom of the pecking order til the day she decided she wanted to run things.

Also sometimes if you remove the ones who are dominating them, some submissives will literally "bloom". I had a hen one time who was really shy and always picked on, when I moved her to a different pen she instantly took over her new group! I think maybe she had a dominant personality all along, but was so submissive because there was someone MORE dominant than her keeping her repressed. When she was removed from whoever was intimidating her, she started to display her true personality. Social structures are always changing... So just because a fish looks submissive right now, doesn't mean it is likely to STAY that way forever!

I think the best way to do anything is to expect THE BEST possible outcome, but having said that, definitely know (and be ready) should it NOT go exactly the way you'd like. It may sound silly, but optimistic people do have a higher rate of success! =)

Pick YOUR FAVORITE females, and hopefully they will organize themselves in such a way that you get a peaceful tank. But ultimately it's going to be the individual personalities of the fish that determine if it will work or not, and they sort that out themselves without consulting us about it I say pick your favorites, because, I think it helps if You REALLY like them!

I train horses and riders, and I have found the people who REALY LIKE their horses are more willing to put in extra effort or make adjustments to their plans because they just like them. So moving that idea to fish, I think if you really like your fish, you are more willing to put up with them doing things THEIR way! (just in case one of the girls DOESN'T get along, you'd be more accepting of putting her in her own display bowl in the living room! =)

 

[beanz8]

Thank you LadyDragon it makes sense I'm just a naturally a bit anxious but I figure if I can handle a 18 week old kitten and a 10 year old cat and their disputes I can deal with a few fish! And I'm sure jazz wouldn't mind a pretty neighbour if it came down to it (separate tanks of course!)

 

[LadyDragon]

Congratulations on your new additions!

 

[beanz8]

Thank you. I will update when I've found my ladies

 

[beanz8]

Eeek I now have 5 lil ladies in my tank 2 Pale ones on with red fins on with aqua blue and 3 dark ones on with purple fins one with blue and one with red. I'm not sure what body colour they will be as they are stressed, but they are investigating the tank, fingers crossed.

There was a lil red one with barely any fins and thin at the back of the tank looking so sad

 

[beanz8]

Am having my first squaring up competition in the tank, just seem to have 2 who dislike each other.....