08-02-2008, 07:17 PM
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#1 | | | Impending doom?
Molly(a female Gold Molly) and Berry (A Strawberry Tetra) seem to be doing well. They swim around, very energetically, and play with one another. They are a pleasure to watch. The only thing is I never see Berry (the Tetra) eat. Molly is use to the routine and circles the area of the tank where I deposit the food when it's time for feeding, as it's typically at the same time every day. but I Berry doesn't. Not that it's terrbile disturbing. But I don't see her come up to eat at all. How long can they go without eating? Should I be worried? Am I just missing her eat?
Actually, she spends a lot of time by the filter, is it normal? Like she swims around and plays games with Molly, but when she's not, she hangs around the back of the tank?
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08-02-2008, 09:03 PM
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#3 | | |
There's a difference between anthropomorphizing fish and imputing them with personality. I've certainly kept fish that have come to recognize me personally and have their own individual personalities and behaviors. It is absolutely not an autonomous ecosystem. Fish are aware of us, learn to come to the surface when feeding, etc. They react when we walk by and are quite aware of our existence. While I don't name fish, there's no reason not to, and there's certainly no need to state this as a 'rule'. I don't see why naming a fish would alter a person's ability to care for it.
PDX is right about shoaling, tetras should be in groups of 6+, otherwise they'll be very nervous, and shy, which is why yours is often hiding.
I'm not sure why you need a book. There's plenty of great resources on here and all across the web. If you want a reference book, go ahead and get one, but I've found that even books can be inaccurate. I always gather my information from as many different sources as possible.
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08-03-2008, 12:07 AM
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#6 | | |
Rule #1
Don't let people on the internet tell you what to do. :)
Seriously, take what you find here with a grain of salt and compare it with other resources.
Now, you said your tetra is spending a lot of time near the filter, could she be picking small bits of leftover food off the intake when you are not around? She may be less timid and afraid when you're not there, and that might be why you don't see her feeding.
Obviously the "school of tetra' posters above don't remember from your other posts that your current tank is about two gallons. You can't have her in a school right now, until you get your bigger tank, so you're just going to be making the best of it. You are on the right track by watching her behavior and taking notes on what she is doing and how she is responding.
Ash
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08-03-2008, 09:42 AM
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#7 | | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by Ashkat Rule #1
Don't let people on the internet tell you what to do. :)
Seriously, take what you find here with a grain of salt and compare it with other resources.
Now, you said your tetra is spending a lot of time near the filter, could she be picking small bits of leftover food off the intake when you are not around? She may be less timid and afraid when you're not there, and that might be why you don't see her feeding.
Obviously the "school of tetra' posters above don't remember from your other posts that your current tank is about two gallons. You can't have her in a school right now, until you get your bigger tank, so you're just going to be making the best of it. You are on the right track by watching her behavior and taking notes on what she is doing and how she is responding.
Ash | Thanks for the reasurance. I did get a bunch of books out from the Library and am reading them. I had no idea about shoals etc when I got the fish. I just picked the ones that the store had that looked nice. Considering that 5 out of the 7 fish I've tried have died, I'm happy to have these two still alive and kicking (or should I say swimming).
I do only have a 2 gallon tank. I'm working on getting a bigger one when I get paid at the end of the week. One question I have is......Should I just keep these guys in the 2 gallon and do a fishless cycle on the new one, or will these guys do better in the bigger tank and I should just move them and do a fish cycle?
I guess for now with Berry, as long as she's actually swimming around and acting like a fish, I'll try not o get too concerned. She does come out and play and she seems to enjoy interacting with Molly. So if she doesn't come out from the filter, then maybe I'll get concerned.
As for naming them, I have neices and they think it's cool. And so do I. It doesn't change anything about their care.
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08-03-2008, 12:24 PM
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#9 | | | Quote: |
There's a difference between anthropomorphizing fish and imputing them with personality. I've certainly kept fish that have come to recognize me personally and have their own individual personalities and behaviors. It is absolutely not an autonomous ecosystem. Fish are aware of us, learn to come to the surface when feeding, etc. They react when we walk by and are quite aware of our existence. While I don't name fish, there's no reason not to, and there's certainly no need to state this as a 'rule'. I don't see why naming a fish would alter a person's ability to care for it.
| Okay, name your fish if you want, they probably don't mind. ;) But unfortunately, this frequently goes hand in hand with assigning human traits to the fish which they definitely don't have. For instance, I very much doubt a molly and a tetra "play" with each other. And a couple of days ago, that college kid asked if his Goldfish felt lonely when he (the kid) wasn't in the room. Quote: |
Obviously the "school of tetra' posters above don't remember from your other posts that your current tank is about two gallons.
| Ah, that's where the book rule kicks in...;)
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