Hi MFK folks,
I recently acquired 2 young asian climbing perch specimens and they are currently in a heavily planted, blackwater aquarium with plenty of hiding places and subdued lighting. Upon introducing them into the tank (they are the first inhabitants), initially they were quite shy (15-30mins) and stayed hidden, however after a while I noticed that both of the fishes engaged in a mini 'sparring' session where one fish shook its body side to side with the other fish close to it and they both took turns doing it to each other. Luckily no bites of any sort were exchanged apart from body shaking. I am aware that Anabas is a pretty aggressive fish, however after doing research on them for a month or so, most if not all sources have stated them as being social towards fellow perches and nothing on aggression between perches was ever mentioned.
I suspect it could be due to territorial disputes because, both of the perches have their own little 'zones' in the tank and they rarely stray into each other's domain.
But, I could be wrong so it would be great if fellow MFK's who are experienced with Anabas, could assist me with the reason behind this strange behaviour. I do not want to lose either fish as they are both beautiful specimens and I love my asian climbing perches like they are my own children.
I recently acquired 2 young asian climbing perch specimens and they are currently in a heavily planted, blackwater aquarium with plenty of hiding places and subdued lighting. Upon introducing them into the tank (they are the first inhabitants), initially they were quite shy (15-30mins) and stayed hidden, however after a while I noticed that both of the fishes engaged in a mini 'sparring' session where one fish shook its body side to side with the other fish close to it and they both took turns doing it to each other. Luckily no bites of any sort were exchanged apart from body shaking. I am aware that Anabas is a pretty aggressive fish, however after doing research on them for a month or so, most if not all sources have stated them as being social towards fellow perches and nothing on aggression between perches was ever mentioned.
I suspect it could be due to territorial disputes because, both of the perches have their own little 'zones' in the tank and they rarely stray into each other's domain.
But, I could be wrong so it would be great if fellow MFK's who are experienced with Anabas, could assist me with the reason behind this strange behaviour. I do not want to lose either fish as they are both beautiful specimens and I love my asian climbing perches like they are my own children.
