2.18.2013

Guppy Behavior - Power Outage

As the power went out in my house (for a good hour) and my aquariums shutdown, I laid in bed watching how my guppies would react to the motionless water that then lacked a light source aside from what was coming in through the windows.

I have 2 guppy tanks in my room, one 10-gal which houses male guppies and the other 10-gal which houses female guppies. The power outage really did not seem to phase the male guppies as they continued their daily mating rituals with the other males in the aquarium. The power outage in the female aquarium however, well that made a big behavioral change...

The females began to group/school together as they sank down to the bottom of the aquarium as if they were ultimately terrified. Their body movements were brief as they moved themselves inch by inch about the tank in search of what was happening. The behavior continued for about half an hour as they began to realize they were all still okay. When I got out of bed they quickly relaxed as they knew I was about to feed them and after that point they no longer seemed afraid at all (to a guppy I suppose I am its means of positive well-being and a sign of their food source).

Overall, this makes me wonder if female guppies are perhaps better suited for survival over the male species. Which wouldn't be all too surprising since females aren't as colorful as males, thus aiding them in camouflage if/when hiding from predators. For more info on that topic checkout this article.

2.14.2013

Fish Photo Post

I mentioned in my last post that I'd get up some new pictures of my fish that you've probably read so much about on this blog. I'm still trying to get the hang of my new camera so hopefully my photos start getting better overtime but, I can definitely say these pics are a major improvement over older ones you may have seen on here prior to this post. Let me know what you think or anything else you'd like to see a photo of in the future.
Male tuxedo guppy "Peppermint" and some of his fry
Closeup of Peppermint
Female tuxedo guppies: Freckles and Rudder
Male Betta: Ebo
P.S. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!