Wierd tiger barb behavior

[frog girl]

So I only had 2 barbs & the one was running the other ragged (I want to get rid of them but am still adjustig the tank for new occupants) but I couldn't stand it any longer so I broke down & got 4 more (now the local aquarium society will get 6 instead of 2).

The dominant male who is an adult but is small (due to frugal feeding) about the same size as the juveniles I just bought did a weird thing. He stood on his head & flaired out his fins and made them ripple. One of the new fish came up & repeatedly nibbled him gentley.

He & the poor female he was hounding did spawn about 3 weeks ago when I was doing a big water change & clean out but I didn't get to watch the courtship.

So was he soliciting grooming from the other fish or just trying to get a chic.

I have observed that when one fish challenges another in the dominance heirarchy putting the body in a vertical position but with folded up fins is a submissive gesture that usually results in the pursuer not escalating the encounter. The other thing they do to signal this seems to be to tip their bodies sideways at about a 45 degree angle (its another I give/you win signal). I think with this sideways behavior basically what they are doing (since the flair their fins & try to show their sides during dominance challenges - this makes their body look bigger) is to make their sillouette appear smaller & therefore less threatening.

Sorry I study animal behavior I get way to excited about this stuff. . . .

Anyway all you tiger barb experts out there what do you think grooming or courtship??

 

[mattrox]

I like obseriving fish behaviour too! You have made some great obervations.

 

[QTOFFER]

He stood on his head & flaired out his fins and made them ripple. One of the new fish came up & repeatedly nibbled him gentley.

Anyway all you tiger barb experts out there what do you think grooming or courtship??

I'd guess either a courtship display, or an aggressive display between males. Some of my tiger barbs show this same behavior prior to an exciting chase around the tank.

Another thing I have noticed, as my tigers have matured, is the appearance of a row of small vertical black marks between the second and third bands. The more aggressive fish (I'm assuming male) seem to have more of these marks. Maybe they're the tiger barb equivalent of army sergeant rank insignia.

 

[frog girl]

My dominant male doesn't have those but 2 of the newbies do. He does have more dark spots though now that he is an adult. I am sure its partly genetic but I will watch to see if they darken up. I think you can tell the males from females by the color of their noses when they are adults & how bright their fins are to some extent. Apparently the males get orangey noses & the females don't so much. Certainly my dom. male has & orange nose & the female he spawned with has a more blackish gray one.

Nice to hear other folks are as fascinated with watching their fish as I am.

 

[Melody]

Im not by any means an expert, but rule number one with Tiger Barbs...
There are no rules! Tiger Barbs are the true Imps of the fish world. They are the battiest, most neurotic little fish I have ever seen. Once I thought I figured them out, they go and do something off the wall...errr tank glass...
good luck figuring them out!