MereB
New member
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2010
- Messages
- 656
- Reaction score
- 23
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Perth, Western Australia
- Country
- Australia
- Display Name
- Meredyth
Thank you Iggie :happy:
@ Chris LOL I can just about picture that. We've had quite a few out here too. haha Hubby had some people over to buy one of our tanks last weekend and there were a bunch of worms on the paving so I picked them up and dumped them into the baby tank :lol: the guys daughter, she's almost 9, was horrified for a minute that I'd put them into the tank but it was soon forgotten as she watched the babies waddle over and eat them. Then she just though it was super cool that they ate live worms :rofl:
You know I've never had a problem with these guys eating close to each other.
Maybe it's because they've never known any different but they ALL sniff their food very carefully while they are feeding and seem to know what their tank mates smell like. I dump the pellets/worms into the tank along the front and out they all come to eat. They'll find food eat that and go looking for more and usually end up in one big group somewhere. They come across a tank mates leg/tail/gills/belly give it a sniff and move away and look somewhere else. It's really quite amazing to watch them and all the babies have been the same. I found 4 little runts in the baby tank a month or two ago. Fished 3 of them out shortly after, couldn't see the 4th & figured it's luck had run out. These guys were absolutely small enough to be eaten by ANY of their siblings at less than half their size but the big ones would do the same thing. Have a sniff and turn away. I refound the last runt a couple of weeks ago now that the numbers have dropped and it's perfectly fine.
I've yet to have a serious nipping incident with any of them since they were a month old. Fast was moved out a couple of weeks ago. He could have easily eaten any of his siblings but not a single missing appendage among them. I didn't want to tempt fate though.
I should really get a video of them.
My adults are the same so maybe they get it from their parents
@ Chris LOL I can just about picture that. We've had quite a few out here too. haha Hubby had some people over to buy one of our tanks last weekend and there were a bunch of worms on the paving so I picked them up and dumped them into the baby tank :lol: the guys daughter, she's almost 9, was horrified for a minute that I'd put them into the tank but it was soon forgotten as she watched the babies waddle over and eat them. Then she just though it was super cool that they ate live worms :rofl:
You know I've never had a problem with these guys eating close to each other.
Maybe it's because they've never known any different but they ALL sniff their food very carefully while they are feeding and seem to know what their tank mates smell like. I dump the pellets/worms into the tank along the front and out they all come to eat. They'll find food eat that and go looking for more and usually end up in one big group somewhere. They come across a tank mates leg/tail/gills/belly give it a sniff and move away and look somewhere else. It's really quite amazing to watch them and all the babies have been the same. I found 4 little runts in the baby tank a month or two ago. Fished 3 of them out shortly after, couldn't see the 4th & figured it's luck had run out. These guys were absolutely small enough to be eaten by ANY of their siblings at less than half their size but the big ones would do the same thing. Have a sniff and turn away. I refound the last runt a couple of weeks ago now that the numbers have dropped and it's perfectly fine.
I've yet to have a serious nipping incident with any of them since they were a month old. Fast was moved out a couple of weeks ago. He could have easily eaten any of his siblings but not a single missing appendage among them. I didn't want to tempt fate though.
I should really get a video of them.
My adults are the same so maybe they get it from their parents
Last edited:
