fish behavior

[i likefish]

I have a tomato clown fish about 3 yrs. old and we added a sleeper goby. The goby likes to move the gravel by picking it up in his mouth and spitting it out somewhere else. My clown fish is now doing the same thing(only with little pieces of gravel(one or two pieces at a time).Also our Neon Dottyback is doing the same thing. Does anyone have any suggestions on why they(Tomato Clown and Dottyback) do this now?

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by I likefish
I have a tomato clown fish about 3 yrs. old and we added a sleeper goby. The goby likes to move the gravel by picking it up in his mouth and spitting it out somewhere else. My clown fish is now doing the same thing(only with little pieces of gravel(one or two pieces at a time).Also our Neon Dottyback is doing the same thing. Does anyone have any suggestions on why they(Tomato Clown and Dottyback) do this now?
Maybe they like the goby. You know what they say, imitation is the highest form of flattery.

 

[i likefish]

its just weird that they learned how to do this.

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by I likefish
its just weird that they learned how to do this.
Fish are a lot smarter than most people give them credit for.
Take for instance a puffer. A puffer would never swim at the surface in the ocean, but in captivity, they quickly learn that that is where they get fed and thus so most people will give in and feed them more because the puffer "begs" for food.

 

[i likefish]

my dottyback will look through the glass at me and when i open the hood he swims near the surface waiting for the food to hit the water.

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by I likefish
my dottyback will look through the glass at me and when i open the hood he swims near the surface waiting for the food to hit the water.
Oh, all of my fish do that, lol.

 

[i likefish]

my tomato clown does like to move into the open any more.
WHY!

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by I likefish
my tomato clown does like to move into the open any more.
WHY!
Is someone in the tank threatening him? Like the dottyback? Dottys are known to be very territorial at times.

 

[unleashed]

my dotty is more territorial about the caves he dwells in. how long ago did this start what were his bahavural habits like before he started to hide.check you water quality for anything off sg temp ph sometimes just a little change can make a fish act shy.if my ph is below 8.3 at all even if it drops to 8.2 my spiney boxfish will hide untill i bring back up .hes very very picky.if its not your water its very posible something in your tank is harrassing it.does he come out to eat like nomal any changes what so ever in behavior has a cause we just need to figure out what is the accual cause in this case.

 

[i likefish]

he will come out to eat but normally he will hide behind a purple rock i have along the back corner.

 

[nancysalt]

I have a clownfish that eat food out of my finger and she will follow from one side of the tank to the other(when she is in a tank) Just switch from cc to Ls and I had no QT tank so she is living in a 5g bucket. LOL she is a trooper, been in there for about a week now. Can't wait for my tank to get done cylcing. :cheer: