generally who is the lone wolf, on schooling fish???

[Magnum Man]

schooling / shoaling fish, are not something I really witness in my aquariums... loose and intermixed groups happen, but maybe I lack enough danger in my tanks to keep tight groups???

and while often I get loose grouping, there is almost always one or two that are not in the group... often these are fish that are difficult to sex, or even tell apart, for that matter... and there doesn't seem to be actions of driving them out of the group... wondering if these lone wolves are males, or females, that would go looking to start another group if in the wild, or dare devils, that would be lost to predators in the wild, maybe too immature to understand the group dynamic, yet???

the fish that made me notice this more, is the new silver dollars that came the other day... I have one mature ( likely female ) and added a few medium sized new fish... in this case, the smallest one interacts with the others, but is often on the other side of the tank, from the group... being a social fish, I've not witnessed anything antisocial directed towards the solo fish...

I've noticed this same thing with various tetras... maybe these mostly farm raised fish lack the instincts or experience of predatory fish??? seems like I try to keep them in recommended numbers, but there is always one or two that didn't get the memo on group sizes???

 

[GaryE]

Another huge question I doubt everyone truly understands.

I always figure shoalers, with their fluid movement but hierarchies don't need violence to communicate messages. A lot of it is chemical, and if for example you're a small young male and the shoal has a hierarchy you would be at the end, receiving point of, why stay for the abuse? You can smell/sense it's in the cards from the messages broadcast. In nature, you can hide in a group of many. In a tank, you're lucky if your fishkeeper has 12 in the shoal.

It seems better (to me), to risk branching out and maybe finding a new, decent sized shoal where you could fit quietly as you grew. In a fishtank, there's no other shoal coming, and very little room, but fish aren't evolved for fishtanks.

I'm speculating, and even if I'm right for one species, I could be wrong for others.

Shoals are defensive structures adopted by social groups. When there's no danger, they can spread out and forage. It appears they need to see or sense the possibility of a defensive group at all times. They may not have to use it, but I have seen shoalers kept alone become very weird as a result.

Some of the worst bullying we tried to counter when I taught High School was via social media, via phones. No one got hit or beaten, but the phones let us behave like hierarchical fish. That's progress. Kids were targeted, and some of their twisted peers tried to drive them to self-harm. High School always reminded me of a too small fishtank - crowded and nasty.

 

[gimme30]

I've witnessed the same and think you answered it yourself in your first sentence. Like @GaryE mentioned in the wild it's a survival mechanism. They seem to figure out pretty quickly our little glass boxes are relatively safe spaces. A shame really. Tightly schooled fish are a real pleasure to observe.

 

[Back in the fold]

Not all who wander are lost .