Interesting behavior

seahorsedreams

seahorsedreams

New member
I've had this guy for 4 days. Whenever I approach the tank and hang out there a bit, he opens his mouth and expands his gill casing..... and stays that way for a bit. It is voluntary, for when I walk away or make a motion towards him, he stops it. It totally reminds me of when my anthias use to pester the cleaner shrimp for a picking.

I don't believe it is aggression, his spines always go submissively backwards.
He doesn't do it when I'm not near the tank. I ran video and peeked from around the corner. He doesn't have increased work of breathing, eats beautifully and was weaned to frozen today. He begs appropriately (and constantly).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0PnzR9l4Lg
 
Besides being an absolutely beautiful fish -- that is funny what he does. Maybe it is mating behavior. You have so many scorps now that you exude scorp energy and he sees you as a potential mate!
 
I should mention he "does it" at 50 secs in.

This guy is BIG.... he's very mature. I don't traditionally buy them this old, but his color was unlike what I've seen before. And he has this awesome tail pattern. You can kind of see it in the video that he has this red glow to his fins. We have to hurry up and finish the 210g so he can go in it. His current QT quarters are too small.

The stall on the tank.... I live in an HOA and we all need to replace our fences. They are making the decision (very slowly) as to what to put back up. The sump is going in the back yard and I don't know if I want all that construction going on around it. I'm on them several times a week to make a decision already. It's been longer than June and now my fence is a safety issue as well.
 
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It's really odd...so far, the fish only does it when it sees Renee. We dunno if it's a display, or an invitation to groom the fish or what. We both feel that if it were a health problem that the fish wouldn't behave this way "on cue", so to speak. The only time I've seen scorps act in a similar manner were territorial displays between two conspecifics.

Renee is "the food goddess", so maybe that has something to do with it...
 
That is odd indeed, and yes, a very beautiful fish.

It does look submissive, even the downturn body position looks like a dog who is down on it's belly.

The gill flaring reminds me of invitation to groom or clean as well, which I've never seen a fish do towards a human. It certainly doesnt look like aggression, whatever it is, and it doesnt really look like begging for food either.

Off topic slightly, but do you guys use a DSLR to video or something else?
 
That video was from my iPhone. The rest are from a camcorder or the DSLR.

Greg tried to get him to do it. Nadda. I go in and stare at him when I get up, he does it right away. If I keep staring he'll open his gills even more.... waiting.

It looks more and more like cleaning behaviour. I thought about getting a cleaner wrasse and putting it in a container to see if the lion asks for a cleaning..... but that means I'd have to QT it first. I already have 2 in Qt, I don't know if I want another. But I'm so curious, I think I'll have to try.


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Sent from Tapatalk, so please forgive grammar and spelling :-)
 
That was off an iPhone? I've got a 4 and mine doesnt take near that good of video, I must be doing something wrong.
 
That is really amazing looking behavior. Give him a scratch behind the gill and see what happens :D. That's a really stunning specimen, though, and it will be interesting to see what happens with a cleaner.
 
I'll put one in a critter keeper. If the lion displays for him, I'll QT him and put him in. Might make for some interesting pictures..... or an interesting quick lunch.


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Sent from Tapatalk, so please forgive grammar and spelling :-)
 
Well, he's started clicking at me now. Could this be begging behaviour?

Yesterday I was across the room in the Radiata's tank when I heard this very loud clicking. Like a monster mantis. By the time I turned around to the Antennata's tank, he had stopped but he was "displaying" and had kicked up a lot of dust.

When you walk up to the tank, he "flares". As soon as you start to feed him, he knocks it off. Remember he only use to do this for me, not Greg? I was the only one who use to feed him. Now Greg feeds him as well, and guess what, he'll do it for Greg now.

So, back to the clicking.... later that day I go to the Radiata's tank again and offer him some food. There's the clicking again! He's totally making the noise with his mouth parts. His face was pressed against the glass and he was looking at me from across the room. I'll bring the iPhone with me from now on when I go into the garage, to see if I can catch it. Is he trying to get my attention?
 
That is just too funny Renee. You will have to get it recorded as I want to see this! My fus have turned into beggars as much as the dwarf fuzzy. Who, I think, is actually too fat. I will post a picture later but I think he is getting too big. But let's see this clicking behavior!
 
Heard the clicking again. I was taking pictures of the radiata. He's jealous of the new radiata.

Dang it! It's the voice of Seahorsedreams speaking through namxas' body!
 
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