Territorial Already?

[Andie]

I just wondered if any breeder(s) out there could tell me the average age at which they saw aggression/territorial behaviour in their fry. Mine will be four weeks old tomorrow (yay, birthday! and tonight after feeding, I noticed two of them 'squaring off' below the heater.

Now, they obviously can't flare yet, but their posture and movements exactly duplicated those of full grown males/females preparing to duke it out. They were facing off, moving slowly in sort of an 'upward' fashion, as if they were trying to look bigger and more menacing. One of them finally made a dash at the other, who then shot off across the tank like a teeny fishy bullet to escape its sibling. I couldn't believe it- they barely even have fins! Do they even have TEETH at this age? Is this normal?

 

[Mr.September15]

I just wondered if any breeder(s) out there could tell me the average age at which they saw aggression/territorial behaviour in their fry. Mine will be four weeks old tomorrow (yay, birthday! and tonight after feeding, I noticed two of them 'squaring off' below the heater.

Now, they obviously can't flare yet, but their posture and movements exactly duplicated those of full grown males/females preparing to duke it out. They were facing off, moving slowly in sort of an 'upward' fashion, as if they were trying to look bigger and more menacing. One of them finally made a dash at the other, who then shot off across the tank like a teeny fishy bullet to escape its sibling. I couldn't believe it- they barely even have fins! Do they even have TEETH at this age? Is this normal?

You should PM Synirr shes a prettY experienced breeder. She has like a billion babies...

 

[Andie]

If Synirr sees my thread of course I would welcome any comments she'd make I try not to pester people privately unless it's actually a private matter, though, or an emergency or a decision I need to make right away (Wuv, you darling, I already owe you my sanity and my firstborn, you know that, right?)

I believe, though, that the rate at which fry mature also has something to do with the size of the spawn, so in that respect, Synirr and I are at opposite ends of the scale. My first spawn resulted in three babies, hers in somewhere well over two hundred, as you'll see by the number of people who adopted the babies from it! You see where we might have some difficulty accurately comparing our outcomes?

 

[wuvmybetta]

This is very typical , I've had it happen with very small spawns. As long as there is enough cover he/she won't (most likely) hurt the other one, just yet. You could leave him/her and hope for the best for the next couple of weeks, or just go ahead and jar it now. It is inevitable,ya know

And yes, they do usually start flaring about now. I've seen mine huff their gills as early as two weeks. in two weeks time they'll be flare machines. Congrats on the birthday One month is a huge milestone.

 

[Andie]

Thank you- I'm very relieved to hear that ) I was so scared I had mutant-aggressive babies that would rip each other to shreds! I'll add some more cover to be on the safe side, and do my best to leave them for another week or two, until the heating in residence settles itself for the winter. Then I'll be less worried about putting them in jars.

I had hoped with three fry in a ten gallon tank I'd be safe for a while, but nope, I guess not

 

[Mr.September15]

Thank you- I'm very relieved to hear that ) I was so scared I had mutant-aggressive babies that would rip each other to shreds! I'll add some more cover to be on the safe side, and do my best to leave them for another week or two, until the heating in residence settles itself for the winter. Then I'll be less worried about putting them in jars.

I had hoped with three fry in a ten gallon tank I'd be safe for a while, but nope, I guess not

LOL...How big are the jars that you put them in(gallons)?

 

[Andie]

My juvies will be housed in 1.5 litre (just under half a gallon) milk jars for the first couple months of their lives The jars are the kind you can pour milk out of onto your cereal- they have a marvelous little opening with a sliding cover over it, just perfect for feeding, and they were a steal at the local dollar store

When the fry get older, they'll either get one gallon bowls or a divided tank; it depends on their temperaments. If seeing one another either stresses them out or makes them very aggressive (as current events would suggest) they'll get the bowls And of course when I make my millions (or when they give me good babies themselves) I'll see about upgrading them to 2.5 gal tanks, because I find they just act much prettier in them

 

[Synirr]

You should PM Synirr shes a prettY experienced breeder. She has like a billion babies...

This is why I didn't reply to this thread... I've only had one spawn!!
I guess I'm pretty good at the whole 'raising a bazillion fry' part, but I've only got no experience when it comes to the average developmental rates of fry. Glad Wuv could help ya out

 

[Andie]

I'm glad you know I have no doubts about your fry care abilities It was the developmental angle I was after, and we really are complete opposites in terms of spawn size

 

[Mr.September15]

You should PM Synirr shes a prettY experienced breeder. She has like a billion babies...

This is why I didn't reply to this thread... I've only had one spawn!!
I guess I'm pretty good at the whole 'raising a bazillion fry' part, but I've only got no experience when it comes to the average developmental rates of fry. Glad Wuv could help ya out

You only had one spawn...By the way people say that you have a trillion babies I thought they came from at least 3 spawns...Amazing...You suprise me everytime Synirr. ... Well its good that from one spawn you have all this knowledge...

 

[Synirr]

Hehe, yeah, I had a spawn of 200, that's all

 

[Mr.September15]

Hehe, yeah, I had a spawn of 200, that's all

Only 200 ...

 

[Kiarra]

Mine were flaring at each other at 4 weeks, attacking each other at 6 weeks. Sounds like yours are right on schedule.

 

[Andie]

Sounds like yours are right on schedule.

Just what every new mother loves to hear Thank you!