The Ultimate Aggressive Experiment

[Sonicblast12]

Still going fine, the little undy is back to hiding most of the day and comes out during feeding time. They did go for the same piece of shrimp once, and that didn't go well.

The big one is quite a specimen. Not bad for $30.

 

[Sonicblast12]

It worked for awhile, longer than I expected, but it's over. Big undy started getting pretty savage, so the little one would just hide all the time and run for it's life the few times it would sneak out.

I actually think it would have worked if the smaller undy would have stayed bold, but it got back in the habit of hiding all day. As we've all seen, aggression doesn't really come from fish #1 chasing...it comes from fish #2 running. Once that becomes the pattern, it usually only gets worse.

 

[TitanTV]

Hopefully you were able to find a good home for the smaller one

 

[Sonicblast12]

I have them egg crated until I figure out what to do with them.

 

[jarrod13]

That sucks! Oh well, at least one of them didn't die

 

[Sonicblast12]

That was the big thing for me, I never put the smaller trigger in a position where it couldn't safely escape the larger. It's an arrangement I could continue to employ, but the smaller trigger scared to death all of the time wouldn't be a happy existence.

 

[Sonicblast12]

After keeping them seperated by eggcrate for a few weeks, I set up another tank for the small undy. The problem...I couldn't get it out of it's log. Days went by. Finally shook the log and the small undy plopped into the tank and the big undy got a few pretty good shots in before I could catch the smaller. I feel bad about that, but it should be ok. Here's a video of their last few moments together.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-EI7LM3LtXg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[SauceBoss]

Those undulates are beauties. Theres usually two ways to keep an undulate: either alone, or with a mate. Most other fish it wouldn't pick on or kill would be big enough to eat it.

 

[humaguy]

an undulate will not mate up at this size and will only kill and torment another undy or any other fish...dangerous fish and must be kept solo...but they are beautiful and I love them!

 

[joecc]

Seems like a pretty irresponsible experiment to me.

 

[nonstopfishies]

Seems like a pretty irresponsible experiment to me.

I disagree. An irresponsible experiment would have been to put in the little one and let it take it's course for better or worse until it worked or one was dead.

 

[Sonicblast12]

Seems like a pretty irresponsible experiment to me.

Maybe, but I was always prepared to separate them.

The little undy is definitely happy having its old tank back, eating its body weight in pellets.

 

[humaguy]

I disagree. An irresponsible experiment would have been to put in the little one and let it take it's course for better or worse until it worked or one was dead.

If you know this fish- you would not have said that...

 

[joecc]

Maybe, but I was always prepared to separate them.

24 hours a day? Look, it was irresponsible and the outcome was largely inevatable and could have easilly been worse. I've seen them kill larger fish than them in a few seconds. Publically Advertising/boasting about such activities is less than ethical imo.

 

[Sonicblast12]

I'm boasting and unethical now? Come on.

It just wouldn't be Reef Central if every thread didn't turn into a lecture hall.

C'est la vie.

 

[Recty]

It's nice that someone created an account just to flame you, that's got to make you feel important

 

[Sonicblast12]

Well...I'll definitely take that over someone creating multiple ID's and starting 45 threads asking if they can put a tang in a 90 gallon.

That's about to drive me crazy.

Back on topic. For my next experiment, I'm going to put two undulated triggers in a glass of water.

 

[Sonicblast12]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BOLFbw2S4nk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[ezhoops]

Seems like a pretty irresponsible experiment to me.

I also disagree with this quote, if we as hobbyists don't Try new things in a responsible way like you did, we wouldn't learn much about the creatures we love so much.

 

[humaguy]

I also disagree with this quote, if we as hobbyists don't Try new things in a responsible way like you did, we wouldn't learn much about the creatures we love so much.

well, when you try something that has been done without success, by some, over many years, and if you know about triggers, especially Undys, which were described by Axelrod as "being perhaps the most belligerant fish in all the world's oceans" you would see this was bound to be a failure...
and as others have said, unless you stand over your tank every second of every day, anything can happen...
can always refer to the sticky about mixing aggressive fish that ended in failure...

Undys kill, torment, and harrass for the sheer delight of it...they are dangerous fish and should not have any tankmates...some trigs snap and go postal when they are older and larger...for the most part, even a small Undy will attempt to kill a fish many times its size...just sayin...
however, I bet we will see a similar "experiment" in a few weeks...:headwalls: