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VoidParadigm
11-01-2010, 05:30 PM
I suppose this is no different than two humans recognizing each other as humans, but I was still glad it happened so easily.
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For about a year now I've had a Neon Tetra as the only of his species in the tank. No other schools nearby he could've joined, and nowhere near here sells fish anymore.

His school had a mixture of unexplained death and disappearance just after I bought them, and just before that the store here stopped selling fish.

My Uncle has had a tank of livebearers and leftover schoolers for a while now, several hours away, but wants the tank room to winter goldfish in now, so gave me 32 livebearers, two unidentified red/white fish (tetra or minnow I've assumed), and a single neon tetra, with similar circumstances to my own tetra - hadn't seen another in a year.

Mine has learned that it's safe around my blue strain of guppies, and therefore stays colored up nicely the majority of the time. The uncle's everytime I saw it at the house was always colored way down, practically white, hiding from the endler/guppies he was with, as they picked on him.

I expected perhaps a little aggression, or maybe they wouldn't even see or recognize each other, but as soon as I added the new Tetra it rushed over to mine and pressed right close against it, already starting to color slightly. When it got spooked and darted off in the direction of a higher flow section of the tank, mine went over, and I swear started guiding and pressing it back into the direction of the section of plants it likes to hang out under.

They currently seem content, the new one coloring up more by the minute, hanging out together (along with one of the unidentified red/white tetras.) Really the only obstacle I can see is the new Tetra having to learn like mine did to not be afraid to shove the juvenile blue strain guppy males out of the way when it gets hungry.

Sursion
11-01-2010, 11:09 PM
Cute. It's fun seeing humanity in fish :11:

VoidParadigm
11-04-2010, 01:24 AM
ithe new one is coloured enough now that I can no longer tell them apart. =)

Lady Hobbs
11-04-2010, 01:31 AM
Now imagine if you added 15 for friends? I have a lone rasbora that I've had for 4 years and he's been alone for 3 of those years because I can't find more like him. I always feel bad for him because he thinks he's a tetra now.

dnphillips08
11-04-2010, 01:37 AM
Fish can be so funny! I love reading about fish behavior

kurly
11-04-2010, 01:55 AM
Happy to hear that your Neon finally has a friend just like him :fish: :fish:

VoidParadigm
11-04-2010, 11:11 PM
Hobbsy...you just inadvertantly identified one of the reddish fish.
He has been confirmed to be a rasbora now. =)

Gisela
11-05-2010, 12:00 AM
I just added today 4 Debauwi African Glasscats to the 3 I had. They schooled right away together, but the newcomers are still a little pale. Had to get the 4 at AquaBid. They came all the way from Oregon here! My LFS had only 3 and I felt sorry for them and bought them. They are all happy now in my 125 g.

Rue
11-05-2010, 03:24 PM
Aw...that's so sweet (and kinda sad). I'm glad they've found each other.