Does anybody have a recommendation for a source on African Cichlid behaviour?
I’m probably a bit spooked from the recent deaths, but I worked from home today and have been paying some attention to the dynamics.
Homer, the largest, I suspect is definitely a male. The next biggest is also starting to develop a little hump - so perhaps is also a male.
The two smallest I’m guessing are females. They haven’t grown as fast, and seem to accept their place in the colony.
I have seen some odd behaviour from the middle-most fish today, pictured below. There doesn’t seem to be any damage to the fins, but for a period today it was acting pretty strangely. It would swim in a sort of jerky motion, flashing on the sand, and then sort of wiggle its back half. I watched videos of mollys with the “shimmies” and it sort of looks like that - but not continuously and not as strenuously.
Do you think this is aggression or dominance-seeking behaviour? Flirtation or something to do with breeding? Simple stress? Or a neurological problem?
I’m probably a bit spooked from the recent deaths, but I worked from home today and have been paying some attention to the dynamics.
Homer, the largest, I suspect is definitely a male. The next biggest is also starting to develop a little hump - so perhaps is also a male.
The two smallest I’m guessing are females. They haven’t grown as fast, and seem to accept their place in the colony.
I have seen some odd behaviour from the middle-most fish today, pictured below. There doesn’t seem to be any damage to the fins, but for a period today it was acting pretty strangely. It would swim in a sort of jerky motion, flashing on the sand, and then sort of wiggle its back half. I watched videos of mollys with the “shimmies” and it sort of looks like that - but not continuously and not as strenuously.
Do you think this is aggression or dominance-seeking behaviour? Flirtation or something to do with breeding? Simple stress? Or a neurological problem?