He's spoiled rotten. If we're having a 'session' then he chases a fish away (usually Chip) then comes back to get his sides/fins tickled. It fascinates Chip. He'll come across the tank to hover nearby and observe.
The thing is, I never had to do much as far as 'training'. I think back to when I got Brick back in December. I was going to pick a tiger, but this little red O pushed his way through the crowd to see me, then started dancing along the glass. The rest is history...I think he picked me.
A new thing I do is push him through the water. I shove him by the tail just enough to send him 'sailing away.' He gets a kick out of it and swims right back for more. I can tip him sideways too.
Meanwhile, Boss lets Chip 'rent space' on his turf. Sometimes Chip can go into Boss' original pot. Mostly he hangs out in the grove or behind Boss in the open area. They swim together at times until Boss has had enough then chases Chip away. So one day Chip takes a poke at Boss because of the chasing. Bad move...Boss ran him in circles for a few. Chip goes into Brick's turf but is quick to scoot when he sees Brick coming. He'll circle around and go back. Brick can't maneuver in tighter spaces anymore so its a plus for the severum.
Rex is cool with everyone. Eats till he looks like a stuffed sausage. Man, he can clean up! He's really made my sand maintenance easier.
Boss and Brick are still all over the place, but generally pretty good. Boss avoids a direct confrontation and moves away when Brick approaches. In fact when Brick goes on his side he immediately goes on Brick's side. When eating they bounce off each other. Brick will look for Boss in his original pot (patrol) but Boss stays in the second pot a lot now. Brick can't maneuver in 'the jungle' so he can't take cheap shots like before. So Boss keeps an eye on him right next to his territory.
And despite his new size (more on that later) Brick still can't do anything with Boss in a straight up fight. He's like the big fat kid taking on a pro linebacker. When they lock up its still the same. Brick crashes into the BP , hits a wall and gets knocked back. Fortunately my O seems to be growing out of the 'fighting for giggles' phase. He likes being a bully with the other fish but won't hassle them. In fact he'll let Chip sleep on his side at night. Here and there he takes a bored poke at Rex but doesn't chase. Tries to chase Chip but is too big and slow.
New measurements tomorrow on Brick. Took me 3 days to get them since he wouldn't stop moving and drifted on his tail every time I grabbed the ruler. I might tape a quarter to the glass to show his thick.
