Strange strange behaviour

[sarahbella]

Ok, i bought two convicts on saturday.  One is a female, the other, unsexed as its still very young but im gonna assume its a boy.  Martha and Cecil.

There isnt too much of a size difference between these guys but Martha is a bully.    I was looking in the tank yesterday and i see cecil floating belly up.  I thought he was dead, but i left him in the tank, planned to scoop him up today, put him in a bag and take him back to the pet store. Well wouldnt you know it! hes alive and well this morning, and Martha is STILL a bully  She chased him all around the tank this morning and then guess what i saw?  Cecil stopping suddenly to float belly up on the surface.  Martha retreats and cecil goes to take cover in the plants...


Is this common??   i had no idea fish knew how to play possum..  interesting indeed...

[mseguin]

One of the weirdest things I've seen since working at BA was a banded goby who faked his own death. I saw him start gasping then, change colour completely, went totally pale, then start floating. I made a mental note to sccop him when I had a chance, then came back later to find him doing perfectly fine.

[BigDaddy]

It could just be that your two convicts are already too small for the 10 gallon.

I have a single pair in a 33 gallon.  The male is maybe 2.5 to 3 inches.  If he isn't spawning with the female... he's chasing her around the tank.