Fresh water tropical aquarium fish are generally small and only live a couple/few years. I have a 30 gallon tank, so there are about 2 dozen small fish in it (mostly tiger barbs, cherry barbs, and serpa tetra). So it is no great surprise to me to see a dead one every so often. Yesterday, I noticed that the male dwarf gourami of my pair had died and was lying in a corner of the aquarium. I knew I would have to get it out soon but I was a bit busy.
What surprised me was that the female was within a couple of inches of the dead male each time I passed by. I glanced at the spot each time I passed for a couple of hours and she was always right there! So I just watched her.
It's not like I always saw them swimming around together, and I certainly never noticed them trying to build a nest or mate. I'm also not inclined to ascribe complex emotions to a fish. But she was staying between him and the other fish in the tank. I think she sensed something was wrong with him and may have even been guarding him.
Pretty impressive for a "just a fish".
4 comments:
That is interesting and I would say you are right. Glad you blogged on this. I used to have tropical fish but nit after the kids turned 8 months or so. Fearful of tank turnover.
I think you are right too. They were a pair for a long time. She knew.
Interesting. I wonder if she was keeping the other fish from deciding he was dinner..
Poor fishie.
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