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Aggressive behaviour in Sewellia lineolata - photos!

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 4:44 pm
by Emma Turner
Hi all,

On Tuesday evening, we were waiting at the shop for our usual tropical fish shipments to arrive. However, they were later arriving than usual, so in the meantime, I went round having a good look at all the fish in the shop, making sure that everything was ok. When I got to my favourite part - the loach section - the Sewellia lineolata immediately caught my eye. Two of them appeared to be scrapping with each other right out in the open, on top of the sand. I didn't want to disturb them, so I slowly crept up on them, but surprisingly they didn't seem bothered by me at all and carried on. So I went and grabbed my camera and started to take some photos of them, and they continued to ignore me.

They were doing the hillstream 'topping' behaviour now and then, but mostly it seemed to consist of nibbling the flanks of each other. To start with it seemed to be one fish doing all the chasing and nibbling, then after a while, the roles seemed to swap and the other fish became the 'nibbler'. This went on non-stop for over an hour, by which time I really wasn't sure if I should be separating them (they were breathing pretty fast). None of the other Sewellia in the tank got involved, and stayed out of the way on the glass or on the bogwood. I thought they were probably ok, as although the chasing was quite fierce, the actual nibbling looked to be quite gentle. But then just after an hour, I started to see slight marks on the skin of one of them, where the other one was continually nibbling, so I decided I would separate them. However, as soon as I opened the cover slide, they dashed under the bogwood with all the others and got completely mixed up. I decided to let them settle again to see if it started up once more, but nothing happened and we turned the lights off ready for the new fish that were coming in. I have never yet seen the ones at home in the River Tank behave in this manner, and this is the first time any at the shop showed signs of aggression.

There are a lot of photos, so I hope you enjoy them:

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Maybe they should kiss and make-up....
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Hope you found this interesting,

Emma

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 4:58 pm
by Graeme Robson
Superb!! :D Picture quality is amazing! Specimens are fantastic!

Males being males......


Graeme.

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 5:18 pm
by Jim Powers
Great shot, as usual, Emma. Your insights on this gorgeous species are always welcome, even if they do make me more and more envious :D

pictures

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 5:27 pm
by jerry_tyler
excellent as usaul . One day I will be able to take pictures like that.
I hope
thanks for sharing
jerry

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:12 pm
by Mark in Vancouver
That is massively cool, Emma. That's probably the first evidence we have of distinctive behaviour in this species - at least in the tank.

Great stuff.

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 7:20 pm
by Martin Thoene
Emma! I cannot believe you managed to get so many excellent photographs. Especially since I know these guys were whipping around pretty violently as evidenced by the flying gravel.

These are really significant photos IMO and we absolutely must use some when we get into redoing the Species section.

I would totally agree with Graeme that this is two Males getting into it. The slim side-on profile is pretty indicative as are the very clearly defined colouring and markings.

Beautiful fish!

Can I cry now? :cry:

Martin.

Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 12:54 pm
by Emma Turner
Thank you for your kind comments! :D
I feel priveleged that I was able to watch this show of aggression for over an hour in a well-lit tank, with the two fish concerned right out in the open. I am amazed that they weren't worried by me being there so close to the tank, and with a camera continually flashing away!
Anyway, I am pleased that I've been able to document this with so many photos, and glad to be able to give a little insight into their behaviour. 8)

Emma

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 12:14 pm
by Hendra
Very nice shots of beautifull specimens!! :D
Ever got S. speciosa? Curious to see the pictures of live fish!!

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 12:27 pm
by Graeme Robson
Wouldn't we all! The pdf file only shows black and white preserved specimens of:

Sewellia pterolineata
Sewellia speciosa
Sewellia diardi
Sewellia elongata

:?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 12:42 pm
by Hendra
I very curious with S. speciosa, because its looks very gorgeous even in B/W pictures of Preserved specimen!!! :D

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 12:55 pm
by Graeme Robson
I agree. The contrasting colouration as is described sounds fascinating. As well as the familiar pattern of certain species. :D



Graeme.

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2006 2:33 pm
by Emma Turner
Sadly no chance of finding S. speciosa over here yet, Hendra. The S. lineolata have become available only very recently, and not many shops have them (or are likely to know how to look after them properly).

Emma

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 1:07 pm
by Mike Ophir
Emma!! WOW! Those photos are amazing! Its a shame we cant use them in "the book." Simply unbeleivable. You documented quite some interesting behavior.
Keep up the good work.

Mike

Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 12:48 pm
by MaryJ
Wow Emma nice pics. Gee your fish are as pretty as mine. :lol:

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:19 am
by mamaschild
Emma, that was FABULOUS :!: :!:

What a rumble, huh ;) You are so lucky to have seen it and the pics.....wow, can't get enough. I love when they "flap their fins".....gonna fly away :lol: