Post by goldenpuon on Oct 25, 2008 13:29:16 GMT -5
Ok, as some of you may have read, I isolated a pregnant female guppy who was expecting in the next week or less. I didn't adjust her for the water for quite long enough and I thought that was the cause of her hiding. I tested water parameters daily and found nothing wrong but she was not happy. It truns out this was a little more complicated.
When I first added her, I had a female betta in a 1 gallon container next to the 2 1/2 gallon. The guppy was obsessed with her when I first added her to the 2 1/2 I put her in to give birth. Then she started showing signs of stress and hiding so I took the betta away, afraid that might be the cause. After that the guppy sulked for 2 days and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I was worried about losing her and her unborn children. Then last night around 11, I turned the light on and thought I saw her coloring darkening and I was afraid she was dying. She was sleeping but I needed to know how she was doing so I could take appropriate measures once I figured out what was wrong with her. I put my finger in the water, even lightly taped on the glass, nothing... Eventually, I took her out in a quart container to look her over. She didn't even fight but once she was out of the tank and I was looking at her, she sprung to life! Curious, I floated the container in the main tank with the other guppies for a moment and she acted like her normal self. Still afraid that something was wrong, I put her back and she seemed a little more lively but then went into hiding again and when I tried feeding her, basically ignored the food and me. I put the female betta back to see if my hyptothesis was correct and she was acting like this because she was not in a tank with other fish. It didn't take long for her to notice the betta and they were staring at each other and she followed the betta's every move, pacing at the side of the tank. I decided that the risk of losing her was too great so I put her back in with the other guppies and she started swimming around with them and being super active. I woudl rather lose the babies to otyheher guppies eating them than her plus her babies. I tried feeding a small amount and she went for it like her normal self! So she was suffering from being away from other guppies, probably since they are schooling fish!
This bring me questions, like was the fish actually experiencing the emotion of loneliness of depression? I know fish feel fear and anxiety (for food at least) but not these emotions. I also wonder how the betta knew that the guppy wanted another fish. The female betta was staring at the guppy and showing no sign of flaring. Also, sometimes I hear my bettas making sounds at night that are not bubbers or filters. I have actually read about a person who heard his male bettas communicating through barely inaudible noises. I wonder if fish have an almost silent communication system we do not know of. To try to get thses questions answered, I will be observing my fish more, listening to my bettas, and try to see my guppy school's reaction when I place a betta in a container next to their tank.
Just thought you guys would find this interesting.
When I first added her, I had a female betta in a 1 gallon container next to the 2 1/2 gallon. The guppy was obsessed with her when I first added her to the 2 1/2 I put her in to give birth. Then she started showing signs of stress and hiding so I took the betta away, afraid that might be the cause. After that the guppy sulked for 2 days and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I was worried about losing her and her unborn children. Then last night around 11, I turned the light on and thought I saw her coloring darkening and I was afraid she was dying. She was sleeping but I needed to know how she was doing so I could take appropriate measures once I figured out what was wrong with her. I put my finger in the water, even lightly taped on the glass, nothing... Eventually, I took her out in a quart container to look her over. She didn't even fight but once she was out of the tank and I was looking at her, she sprung to life! Curious, I floated the container in the main tank with the other guppies for a moment and she acted like her normal self. Still afraid that something was wrong, I put her back and she seemed a little more lively but then went into hiding again and when I tried feeding her, basically ignored the food and me. I put the female betta back to see if my hyptothesis was correct and she was acting like this because she was not in a tank with other fish. It didn't take long for her to notice the betta and they were staring at each other and she followed the betta's every move, pacing at the side of the tank. I decided that the risk of losing her was too great so I put her back in with the other guppies and she started swimming around with them and being super active. I woudl rather lose the babies to otyheher guppies eating them than her plus her babies. I tried feeding a small amount and she went for it like her normal self! So she was suffering from being away from other guppies, probably since they are schooling fish!
This bring me questions, like was the fish actually experiencing the emotion of loneliness of depression? I know fish feel fear and anxiety (for food at least) but not these emotions. I also wonder how the betta knew that the guppy wanted another fish. The female betta was staring at the guppy and showing no sign of flaring. Also, sometimes I hear my bettas making sounds at night that are not bubbers or filters. I have actually read about a person who heard his male bettas communicating through barely inaudible noises. I wonder if fish have an almost silent communication system we do not know of. To try to get thses questions answered, I will be observing my fish more, listening to my bettas, and try to see my guppy school's reaction when I place a betta in a container next to their tank.
Just thought you guys would find this interesting.