I have recently added 4 tiger barbs to my new 100l tank which has a gravel substrate and is planted with horn wort. The tank has been cycling for just over a week and the only reason I have added the fish this early is because my girlfriends tank was smashed after her dog went mental trying to kill its chew rope. you know how they shake their head from side to side? well it had a pretty good aim because as it let go, it went straight towards the tank. yeah, bad times.
Anyway, i took the fish in a few days ago and I have noticed that 2 of them are doing head stands in the corner of tank near the heater.
At first i thought there was something majorly wrong with the water, so have done 2 water changes (yesterday and today), but they are still doing it. Unfortunately I dont have the equipment needed to test the water as i didnt plan on having fish for at least another month or so and by the time i finish work all the pet shops are closed.
I've been doing some reading and a number of sites say that this is a mating ritual, that the males will head stand and flare their fins to get the girls in the mood. The guys that are doing the head stands have bright red mouths, which again is apparently a sign that they will breed soon, and as far as I can tell, there is at least 1 female as she has a nice round abdomen.
However, other sites say that this is a bad sign and indicates that there is something wrong with the water. I've even tried doing some research on google scholar, but just cant find a concrete answer.
I'll continue to do daily water changes as the fish have gone in way too early and i dont want ammonia levels to get too high, but would really like some advice on why my barbs are head standing.
Anyway, i took the fish in a few days ago and I have noticed that 2 of them are doing head stands in the corner of tank near the heater.
At first i thought there was something majorly wrong with the water, so have done 2 water changes (yesterday and today), but they are still doing it. Unfortunately I dont have the equipment needed to test the water as i didnt plan on having fish for at least another month or so and by the time i finish work all the pet shops are closed.
I've been doing some reading and a number of sites say that this is a mating ritual, that the males will head stand and flare their fins to get the girls in the mood. The guys that are doing the head stands have bright red mouths, which again is apparently a sign that they will breed soon, and as far as I can tell, there is at least 1 female as she has a nice round abdomen.
However, other sites say that this is a bad sign and indicates that there is something wrong with the water. I've even tried doing some research on google scholar, but just cant find a concrete answer.
I'll continue to do daily water changes as the fish have gone in way too early and i dont want ammonia levels to get too high, but would really like some advice on why my barbs are head standing.
