[driftwoodhunter]

Ok, so my routine has been a little off the last few days - I work in retail and my hours have been wacky. Maybe because the feeding and lighting times have been different has something to do with this, but today I came home from work around 8am (after pulling a 13 hr shift at work for Black Friday) and my Buenos Aires are going nuts! I've never seen this behavior taken to this extreme before - males chasing other males at lighting speed, fish darting in the blink of an eye the full 6 ft length of the tank - males driving the females hard. It looks like an aerial dogfight in there. The are chasing the Columbian tetras when they get near, too - but leaving the smaller tetra species alone.

I took a crappy vid that I may or may not post, depends how bad it is (daylight causing massive reflections). If it's still going on tonight I'll get a much better vid. I'm due for a water change today, but parameters aren't too bad - zero ammonia, zero nitrites, but too high on nitrates (40) but I dosed some Prime yesterday to tide me over until I could get to the w/c today. Can it be hormones, or bad water? (the other fish are normal & calm). Is it just the typical boisterous Buenos behavior I've read so much about but haven't seen?

I'd love to hear from anyone that's kept them. btw, they are about two and 1/2 yrs old, full grown.

ok, you may not be able to see anything really, but here is the reflection-laden vid - maybe you can see the darting fish? One or two do this on occasion, but all of them? This is a first...

http://s1352.beta.photobucket.com/user/coatfetish/media/VIDEO0056.mp4.html

 

[Amandas tank]

How are things now? Hope they've calmed down. I watched the video. My Puntius Denisonii used to dart like that just before an ICH breakout. Not saying that's whats going on with yours, but perhaps keep an eye on them for "salt spots".

 

[driftwoodhunter]

Right after I posted that, I went ahead and did my routine water change and they went right back to "normal" calm and schooling behavior with the Columbians. I guess it was just a case of the friskies - lol.
By the end, three males at a time were hard driving the females - to the point the females would duck down to the bottom, rest on the the substrate hiding under plant leaves, huffing & puffing - I worried they could be pushed to collapse. Then they'd dash out for another chase. One male was busy chasing after all the fish that got near his new found territory - all in all, I think it was just some hormone-driven thing.
Thanks for asking! And I will keep a close eye out for spots, just in case...

 

[Amandas tank]

Geeze...that would have been scary to see the poor females huffing and puffing under a plant. You must have been quite worried! Glad everything turned out okay for you!!!!