Fraoch
02-04-2009, 02:17 PM
Hello:
We just started our first aquarium. Following a store staff suggestion, we're starting out with 3 male green cobra guppies as starter fish.
The implication is kind of that they're throwaway fish, and people refer to guppies as if they're insignificant or boring, but nothing could be further from the truth!
They are a laugh a minute and are always doing something! They're far more interesting than TV these days...They have individual personalities, neurotic behaviours and everything. My girlfriend has named them and we're beginning to recognize their individual traits.
I have some questions regarding their behaviour. Are they territorial? One seems to claim a section of water and relentlessly chases the others away. In fact, they are always chasing each other around the tank. This has me a bit worried - all the web guides suggested they need a 20 gallon tank but we have a 10 gallon. However going by the "inch of fish per gallon" rule they should have plenty of space - in fact we were planning on 2 more. And it's not like they don't have a lot of room, they're tiny! But still, I wonder if the constant defending of territory is stressing them out.
Secondly, last night they did the weirdest thing. It seemed to be some sort of Fishy Challenge. Instead of chasing each other, two of them stared the other down. They each rigidly held their position in the water through mad beating of fins and seemed to hold their breath and puff themselves up, extending their dorsal fins (which they rarely do). Hilarious!
And lastly, they seem to get hyper after feeding. They rush around the tank, and often one will dive from the bottom to the top over and over. This seems like repetitive behaviour and I'd think it indicates confinement stress, but they are tiny fish and have a comparatively huge tank. They haven't even checked out the inside of the sunken clock tower yet.:ssmile:
In short, this is a lot of fun. I was worried our fish would be as laconic as my Dad's goldfish, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Oh also they're helping us out with the fungus gnats that have infested our house plants and fly in our faces. When I catch one, I feed it to them. They love it, gobbling them up in 10 seconds or less.
We just started our first aquarium. Following a store staff suggestion, we're starting out with 3 male green cobra guppies as starter fish.
The implication is kind of that they're throwaway fish, and people refer to guppies as if they're insignificant or boring, but nothing could be further from the truth!
They are a laugh a minute and are always doing something! They're far more interesting than TV these days...They have individual personalities, neurotic behaviours and everything. My girlfriend has named them and we're beginning to recognize their individual traits.
I have some questions regarding their behaviour. Are they territorial? One seems to claim a section of water and relentlessly chases the others away. In fact, they are always chasing each other around the tank. This has me a bit worried - all the web guides suggested they need a 20 gallon tank but we have a 10 gallon. However going by the "inch of fish per gallon" rule they should have plenty of space - in fact we were planning on 2 more. And it's not like they don't have a lot of room, they're tiny! But still, I wonder if the constant defending of territory is stressing them out.
Secondly, last night they did the weirdest thing. It seemed to be some sort of Fishy Challenge. Instead of chasing each other, two of them stared the other down. They each rigidly held their position in the water through mad beating of fins and seemed to hold their breath and puff themselves up, extending their dorsal fins (which they rarely do). Hilarious!
And lastly, they seem to get hyper after feeding. They rush around the tank, and often one will dive from the bottom to the top over and over. This seems like repetitive behaviour and I'd think it indicates confinement stress, but they are tiny fish and have a comparatively huge tank. They haven't even checked out the inside of the sunken clock tower yet.:ssmile:
In short, this is a lot of fun. I was worried our fish would be as laconic as my Dad's goldfish, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Oh also they're helping us out with the fungus gnats that have infested our house plants and fly in our faces. When I catch one, I feed it to them. They love it, gobbling them up in 10 seconds or less.