tiger barb behavior

[Mike]

i have 4 tiger barbs and recntly they have been floating with their head
down in unison. like hovering with their heads facing the gravel. they do it
alot, but dont seem sick. is this mating behavior.

--





Michael Flanagan

[Tedd Jacobs]

"Mike" wrote...
>i have 4 tiger barbs and recntly they have been floating with their head
>down in unison. like hovering with their heads facing the gravel. they do
>it alot, but dont seem sick. is this mating behavior.

if they are all doing it in unison my first guess is something is amiss.
can you give any more information; water paramiters, how long you have had
them, how long the tank has been established, etcetera. anything and
everything you can think of at this point is helpful.

tedd.


--
I believe everything exists; unicorns do not exist.

[Ozdude]

"Mike" > wrote in message
news:Pejbe.1917$oD6.378@trndny07...
>i have 4 tiger barbs and recntly they have been floating with their head
>down in unison. like hovering with their heads facing the gravel. they do
>it alot, but dont seem sick. is this mating behavior.

I don't know exactly what sort of behavior it is but mine do it and there
was a thread running a while ago about this nose dipping of Tigers. It's
completely normal and one of the things they do.

When I observe it with my 4, they seem to do it if they are thinking about
sex (as if I'd know of course), or getting into mating mode. They also do it
when they are resting and for several other reasons - the main thing is
don't worry too much as it's a feature of the species. They even sleep like
like this amazingly.

There is a situation to be aware of how-ever, where they will constantly do
it if the nitrite is high in the water. If your water checks out fine, then
I wouldn't worry too much about it.

If you're worried about water toxicity, then I've found by changing 80% of
the water out you can pretty much neutralise immediate problems.

I thought mine were indicating high nitrite at one stage so I changed the
water and they were still doing it, and then I watched them for a while and
noticed that were actually tiring themselves out establishing their pecking
order in the new tank (to them).

Now they do it on ocassion - I was lucky to get 2 pairs and it's usually the
males that hang when trying to attract the female.

Oz

--
My Aquatic web Blog is at http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith

[Tedd Jacobs]

"Ozdude" wrote...
>
> "Mike" > wrote in message
> news:Pejbe.1917$oD6.378@trndny07...
>>i have 4 tiger barbs and recntly they have been floating with their head
>>down in unison. like hovering with their heads facing the gravel. they do
>>it alot, but dont seem sick. is this mating behavior.
>
> I don't know exactly what sort of behavior it is but mine do it and there
> was a thread running a while ago about this nose dipping of Tigers. It's
> completely normal and one of the things they do.
>
> When I observe it with my 4, they seem to do it if they are thinking about
> sex (as if I'd know of course), or getting into mating mode. They also do
> it when they are resting and for several other reasons - the main thing is
> don't worry too much as it's a feature of the species. They even sleep
> like like this amazingly.
>
> There is a situation to be aware of how-ever, where they will constantly
> do it if the nitrite is high in the water. If your water checks out fine,
> then I wouldn't worry too much about it.
>
> If you're worried about water toxicity, then I've found by changing 80% of
> the water out you can pretty much neutralise immediate problems.
>
> I thought mine were indicating high nitrite at one stage so I changed the
> water and they were still doing it, and then I watched them for a while
> and noticed that were actually tiring themselves out establishing their
> pecking order in the new tank (to them).
>
> Now they do it on ocassion - I was lucky to get 2 pairs and it's usually
> the males that hang when trying to attract the female.

while this is an excelent observation on your part, it is not quite entirely
true. mating more or less consists of the male running off all other fish
while herding the female. males do not try and attract a female, they just
go and take it. 'nose down' is usually used to indicate 'leave me alone'-
not "c'mere honey and lets get busy", unless of course the male is playing
hard-to-get. ;-)

tedd.

--
How does one infer human behavior through studying the color of artic sea
water?

[Alpha]

I have 20 tiger barbs in a large school. I believe this to be a
socialization behavior relative to subgroups. I see this behavior all the
time and always have.

"Mike" > wrote in message
news:Pejbe.1917$oD6.378@trndny07...
>i have 4 tiger barbs and recntly they have been floating with their head
>down in unison. like hovering with their heads facing the gravel. they do
>it alot, but dont seem sick. is this mating behavior.
>
> --
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael Flanagan
>

[NetMax]

"Mike" > wrote in message
news:Pejbe.1917$oD6.378@trndny07...
>i have 4 tiger barbs and recntly they have been floating with their head
>down in unison. like hovering with their heads facing the gravel. they
>do it alot, but dont seem sick. is this mating behavior.
>
> --
>
>
>
>
>
> Michael Flanagan


Can be normal socializing, (head down facing each other is part of
established the pecking order). Can also be seen after a water change
(dissolved gases probably throwing their point of equilibrium off
slightly), should be temporary and harmless. Can also be seen after a
feeding, especially dry foods. If you suspect it's the food, give a
frozen/fresh food and watch for the difference. If it is the food, just
feed a bit less, more often so you can be more certain that they are not
under gastrointestinal stress ;~).
--
www.NetMax.tk