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Black Spots on Flanks of Bluegill and Aggression


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#1 centrarchid

centrarchid
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Posted 26 January 2015 - 02:39 PM

We are running a lot of replicate groups of bluegill each represented by about 90 fish.  Groups are housed in cylindrical tanks with circular flow about middle drainpipe so as to be self-cleaning.  Fish adopt locations they prefer to be in and some obviously defend their respective positions.  For those interested in behavior an interesting pattern is evident.  The more aggressive males have more and larger dark spots in their flanks.  These guys are not generally the largest, just he meanest.  These mean dudes have more and darker spots than I have ever seen in wild bluegill.  The black spots come from the Northern Bluegill side of the wood pile as the Coppernose and Handpaint sides did not carry it.  The mean dudes make for good daddies but do not cover a plate the way I prefer.


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#2 Megalotis

Megalotis
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Posted 27 January 2015 - 12:13 PM

Interesting observation.  Also interesting that these apparent dominance-indicating spots are not evident in other strains (races?) of the species. 






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