fatheadminnow
Fish Aficionado
In my 10 gallon tank I have a lot of fathead minnows, and I was unsure as to which ones were males and which ones were females, until now. I have increased the tanks exposure to light to 16 hours, and the temperature is hovering right around 68 degrees Fahrenheit. I plan on getting a heater soon to increase the temperature even more. However, I am noticing this one larger minnow is starting to develop spawning colors. He is starting to get a little darker and has two lighter vertical strips on his body. One strip is right behind his head and the other is under his dorsal fin. I have been doing a lot of research about fatheads spawning, so I know a good chunk of knowledge about it; however, there is still one thing that is kind of confusing. The male fathead, that is showing spawning colors, has taken guard under a flower pot that has been put on its side in the aquarium. He acts very aggressive towards other minnows that swim by; pushing them away from the flower pot with his head. He will let no one else under the flower pot. Even when another minnow really tries to get in, he gets even more aggressive, using more of his body to push the intruder away. So with this in mind I figured maybe a female has laid her eggs on the underside of the pot. So I looked under the pot, and to my amazement there were no eggs. My question is, why would a male fathead, that is showing spawning colors, defend his territory with no eggs to guard? Is he just trying to find a place where he wants the eggs to be laid? This is kind of confusing why he would be showing these kinds of signs? Anyone have any ideas?
