Contraversial but up for Debate - DATs "stable" term ..... misunderstood

henward

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 25, 2008
1,260
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Auckland, New Zealand
Hi all
i look at dats
and i look at their behaviour, for all i know tha thave dats.

mine when alone and feeding, its colour will be more brilliant than ever.
when threatened or displaying for challenge, colours up too and becomes "stable"
when it HUNTS! live food, stable.

but my dat eats and stuffs it self, then it hides to rest, then its colour goes back to so called 'unstable".

looking at most fish around the world - i think that when the fish is hunting, threatened,it displays.
You can get a dat alone, comfy and still "unstable"
but i thinmk its the other way around.

i seen dats in big tanks, plenty of tank mates that are dats - "stable', but i think this is cos they are on the edge the whole time. or hungry.

so long i believed that dats are meant to be coloured up. but in nature, they need camo to blend in, and when they are "unstable" THIS IS MORE CAMO!



anyone has similar thoughts, just up for debate really
 

Tom500

Fire Eel
MFK Member
May 14, 2008
2,541
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66
Halifax, UK!!!
henward;2615322; said:
Hi all
i look at dats
and i look at their behaviour, for all i know tha thave dats.

mine when alone and feeding, its colour will be more brilliant than ever.
when threatened or displaying for challenge, colours up too and becomes "stable"
when it HUNTS! live food, stable.

but my dat eats and stuffs it self, then it hides to rest, then its colour goes back to so called 'unstable".

looking at most fish around the world - i think that when the fish is hunting, threatened,it displays.
You can get a dat alone, comfy and still "unstable"
but i thinmk its the other way around.

i seen dats in big tanks, plenty of tank mates that are dats - "stable', but i think this is cos they are on the edge the whole time. or hungry.

so long i believed that dats are meant to be coloured up. but in nature, they need camo to blend in, and when they are "unstable" THIS IS MORE CAMO!



anyone has similar thoughts, just up for debate really



I couldnt agree more mine does the exact some thing!:D
 

jcardona1

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 5, 2007
11,491
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South of Heaven
same here. mine colors up nicely when hes feeding or swimming around. then hell go back into "camo" mode and hide in the corner, waiting for his next outing.

so yeah, all that stuff you said makes sense
 

TCZeli

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jun 27, 2007
1,388
3
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NJ
The term "stable" when dealing with Dats refers to whether or not the colors are bold. Bright yellow base, with deep black bars.

I understand what your saying, and you have a valid theory. But I think it proves that the Dats can be comfortable/happy while being "unstable".

A term is just a term, it can't be wrong. Maybe the though that a stable Dat is a happy Dat, and that an unstable Dat is not comfortable, is wrong.
 

flamenco-t

Piranha
MFK Member
Mar 27, 2006
1,577
53
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South of Heaven
"stable" does not mean an un-happy dats. Stable is what WE defined as bold colors doesn't have anything to do with how the dat's personality.
 

henward

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 25, 2008
1,260
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Auckland, New Zealand
oh ok cool
thought it meant it was unhappy when people say nstable
but i totally disagree.
mine goes stable only when its nuts for food, threatened or chasing clown loaches out of its den lol
 

haynchinook334

Giant Snakehead
MFK Member
Feb 14, 2008
14,479
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\m/(O_o)\m/
Mine does the same.
 

DiXoN

English MFKer
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2004
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Sunderland, England
i have had datnoids living alone in including IT that were stable all the time some that were never stable at first and then became stable later, there are just too many variables to be sure so its all just conjecture really.
 

AttackFish

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 10, 2007
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Torrance
I've had my two IT's for quite a while now.
When I got them, they were stable in the bag, but they were tranqued from shipping.
Once they "woke up" they became unstable.
One will sometimes color up very nicely, while the other will always have drab colors, only showing its bars while feeding.
I am introducing a new dat soon in hopes that this will help as there is some agression from time to time but nothing serious.
Hopefully it does the trick, and if not I'm fine with that.
 

vanimate

Blue Tier VIP
MFK Member
Jun 3, 2005
3,382
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356
Chicago ŅŞ
The definition of the word "stable" is "steadfast; not wavering or changeable". A dat cannot be "semi-stable" that is just contrary to its own definition. It is either stable or not.

I agree with a dats color being more vibrant at times, but I have only a couple that I would consider stable, whether its feeding time or tank cleaning time or bad water quality or whatever, these guys will never go dark or change their color. To me this is what I would consider a "stable" dat.
 
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