I noticed odd bullhead behavior in my agro tank. I have three bullheads in it (yes, I take in stray catfish). They have several places to hide such as hollow log decorations and they make good use of them.
However lately a new behavior is developing in them.
One plant i got for the tank from petco has grown big and bushy. I noticed that sometimes one bullhead would perch up on the branches of the plant. Sometimes another would be next to him looking up at him.
Today I was suprised however to find all three perched in the branches of this plant.
I know "tree climbing" is not too unusual in darters, but is it common in bullheads too? I find this behavior odd.
cat up a tree, bullheads and vegetation
Started by
Guest_FirstChAoS_*
, Nov 04 2009 10:38 AM
5 replies to this topic
#2
Michael Wolfe
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- Board of Directors
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- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 04 November 2009 - 03:36 PM
Is the plant mostly stems, or is it very bushy? If bushy, then they are maybe just deciding that this is a better hiding space.
Another thought might be oxygenation... maybe they are picking a medium good hiding place... but one that has better oxygen (closer to the surface)?
Another thought might be oxygenation... maybe they are picking a medium good hiding place... but one that has better oxygen (closer to the surface)?
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#3
Guest_catfish_hunter_*
Guest_catfish_hunter_*
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Posted 05 November 2009 - 12:40 AM
I've see baby bullheads in the wild lay on leaves to ambush prey and harass eachother for better spots in the plant. I would say it is pretty common behavior for catfish. They like to ambush crayfish, shrimp and small fish from the hiding spots and plants are great for this. What species of plant is it or is it plastic?? Could you possibly show us a photo? How big are the catfish?
#4
Guest_BullHeadsrdfish_*
Guest_BullHeadsrdfish_*
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Posted 05 November 2009 - 12:52 AM
In my experience with Bullheads they seem to like dense plant cover especially when young, as catfish hunter stated. I have seen juvenile bullhead routinely sit in plants when there are abundant caves in the tank for them to hide in. Yellow Bullhead especially seem quite fond of vegetation, more so than the other species of Bullhead. How old are these Bullheads? What species of Bullhead are your catfish? As they grow this behavior seems to be replaced by hiding in caves, logs, etc. Probably because the plants are not big enough to provide adequete cover for them. Just my two cents.
#5
Guest_FirstChAoS_*
Guest_FirstChAoS_*
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Posted 05 November 2009 - 01:06 AM
In my experience with Bullheads they seem to like dense plant cover especially when young, as catfish hunter stated. I have seen juvenile bullhead routinely sit in plants when there are abundant caves in the tank for them to hide in. Yellow Bullhead especially seem quite fond of vegetation, more so than the other species of Bullhead. How old are these Bullheads? What species of Bullhead are your catfish? As they grow this behavior seems to be replaced by hiding in caves, logs, etc. Probably because the plants are not big enough to provide adequete cover for them. Just my two cents.
The plants they hide in are quite bushy. I am not sure of the age but they are about 3 or 4 inches long. I assume they are brown bullhead. (the only other one in my state are yellow and yellow are so far limited to only a few water bodies not near where I collected if what I read was right).
#6
Michael Wolfe
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- Board of Directors
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- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 07 November 2009 - 08:43 AM
The plants they hide in are quite bushy. I am not sure of the age but they are about 3 or 4 inches long. I assume they are brown bullhead. (the only other one in my state are yellow and yellow are so far limited to only a few water bodies not near where I collected if what I read was right).
3-4 inches are very young bullheads... in fact, in my experience, that size only lasts for a few months until they become 6-8 inches... and then they slow down some. So my diagnosis is 'young and hungry'... 'add more food please'
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
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