Fish Saga - Continued.... Reason For Homicidal Tendencies Discovered...

I think I have finally discovered why Spike was killing other fish. (oh and by the way, the one fish which was all beat up by Spike is recovering quite nicely, and it appears that he has his dorsal fin back) I did a little reasearch into goldfish when all the agressive behavior was going on. I wondered if maybe it was an issue of Spike attacking a female fish or something. All the sites I consulted said basically the same thing that males developed white (or light colored) spots on their gill plates. Well the two new fish that ended up getting the shit beat out of them (one died) had black spots on their gillplates - just one one each side of their head. So I figured that might not be the issue. I did more reading and watched the fish more. I noticed the new fish (the surviving one) would start harrasing Spike when Spike was in the plants or near the side of the tank, and Spike would get all pissed and nip that fish. So I figured that fish was just asking for an ass kicking. But I also started to wonder if Spike was a female... Males will pursue a female quite agressively (kind of like some men in clubs) - so much so that they can injure her or kill her by driving her to the point of death from exhaustion. Hmmm... I watched.... The black spots on the other fish have gone away and he no longer harasses Spike. Hmmmm... Spike... is ... a.... GIRL! Well that makes the two homicides that have happend in this tank justifiable. I mean I've felt like killing some unrelenting men from clubs before, she was just taking care of unwanted advances. Maybe I should have done that back in my club days. ;o) there are no plans to change Spikes name, I think Spike fits her even better now that I know she's a really bitchy girl fish. I will however be watching the other fish for signs of obnoxious male behavior, and when it does happen (black spots and all) they will be put in the small tank until their sexual urges have passed - it's for their own protection after all - that and I DO NOT want baby fish.