just bought the six bar
- Thread starter nono
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I do believe there is a bit of variation of personality among fish, but importantly, there is certainly there is a lot of variation in our interests and therefore in how we perceive a certain fish behavior. When the Wolf, or the Goliath, or the Payara eats a smaller fish... Oh it is normal and expected. But if the Distichodus, Leporinus , or Abramites nips here and there... then it is a jerk. It depends what you want. I had a tank with African and South American non-surface predator characin fish, which included Distichodus spp., Leporinus spp, Anostomus, Abramites and a couple of South American ciclhilds. All were assertive fish who held their own well and did not let themselves be bullied. But also did not bother each other much so long as there was enough space and food. Distichodus sexfasciatus and Distichodus lussuoso are beautiful, interesting omnivorous fish, eating both plants and meats. They are food fish in Africa. Not frequently seen in the hobby. In aquaria, they get big but don't grow too fast. But they also may not be suitable to what some of us may have in mind as the "purpose of our tank". But what if the purpose included them to begin with?
Lol on a roll reviving old threads, I have to disagree with this part though. Territorial aggression vs predatory aggression. One is more a personality trait, while the other is more instinctual to survive. We'll use the wolf for example, personality varies a lot from specimen to specimen, some will be like a puppy and run from any aggression while others will kill just because it doesn't want anyone in its territory; second fish is a jerk. Now when it eats a fish, it isn't because it's surviving. No one to blame but the owner in that case. Where as with a killer, if you put s fish in who poses no threat and it gets killed for no apparent reason, well the killer gets called a jerk. Leporinus etc get called jerks because they're not doing it to survive, it's for territory and space.
