[leebca]

Many home aquarists wish to properly convey a particular bit of fish behavior to others. There are words and phrases to describe some fish behaviors that you may need to understand from posts you read, or wish to use in your postings. So, I've compiled a short list of them and can add to the list from anyone posting other words to this thread. A couple of them, where noted, are terms I made up to simply describe an observed behavior. Keep in mind that there is no attempt to explain the behavior in this post, though there are usually one or more reasons for the observed behavior.

DICTIONARY OF FISH BEHAVIOR TERMS

Backing Up - Fish will appear to swim backwards towards another fish. Not a long distance. Usually just less than half the length of the fish.

Catatonic - This is my own word for when a fish seems to be totally unaware of its surroundings. It may seem to 'stare' at the substrate or wall of the aquarium. In this condition, it may even be caught by hand.

Color Change - Fish may alter its hue, intensity, or pigmentation at night. It is a hiding technique. However, the fish will darken, brighten, or alter its colors in the day to display different 'moods.'

Coughing - (Yes. A fish can cough!) This is recognized by the fish seemingly to flush water through its gills in the opposite direction than the respiration flow.

Crash Course - A phrase I use to describe when two fish swim directly toward each other on a 'crash course,' then veer off at the last nano-second, avoiding impact.

Destabilized - Fish cannot keep itself upright.

Dorsaling - The fish turns its whole body such that its dorsal (top) side faces towards the aquarist, another fish, or something in the aquarium.

Fighting the wall - Another term of my own I use to describe when the fish seems to swim hard at the aquarium wall. It acts like it's fighting with its reflection (which it may be, but. . .not always).

Fin Clamping - The fish draws in its fins close to its body. It usually stays like this, flaring out to a more-or-less normal condition only if disturbed, threatened, etc.

Flashing - To people it looks like the fish is scratching itself on a surface. In slightly more technical terms, this behavior is when a fish scrapes itself (body or more commonly on the plate over the gill) on some surface (substrate, rock, decoration, plumbing, etc.) of the aquarium.

Flicking - The fish extends its fins and draws them back in rapid motion. To the aquarist it may seem like the fish is 'signaling,' twitching its fins, or just doing this motion to remain steady in the water column.

Hiding - Many forms of this behavior, even though aquarists just generally lump them all together.

1. Corner Hiding - Fish stays in a corner of the aquarium, usually the upper corner.
2. Rock Hiding - Fish usually keeps out of site within the aquarium rock and/or decorations.
3. Front Hiding - The fish is aware (not catatonic) and yet stays in plain site as if other fish and the aquarist can't see it. Sometimes this is a prelude to the Catatonic state.

Increased Respiration Rate - when the fish appears to be 'breathing' faster than normal. Normal (depending upon the fish) is usually around 80 times per minute.

Pacing - The fish will swim (usually fairly fast) back and forth in the aquarium, usually up against the aquarium side. The home aquarist may think the fish is trying to find a way out of the aquarium.

Pattern Change - The fish may alter its markings for the reasons given for Color Change. Rabbitfishes and Tangs are most notable for altering their patterns and coloration.

Piping - When a fish comes to the surface of the aquarium and appears to be 'gulping' air.

Schooling - A group of fish swimming in formation, turning and changing direction in more or less unison, or gathered in one area (like huddling together).

Shuttering - The fish shivers or shakes fast. Almost like a vibration. It is like a really fast Wagging, but most of the body is involved.

Side Swimming - When two fish swim next to each other. This is not the same a Schooling.

Ventraling - Opposite of Dorsaling. The fish roles over and shows it underside or dorsal side towards the aquarist, another fish or something in the aquarium.

Wagging - The fish will shake its head in the "No" kind of way -- back and forth. This is the quite obvious behavior of a fish hooked during fishing.

Whirling - As the word implies, it is the swimming of the fish in a curly-cue kind of pattern.

[vaporize]

Good adjectives list Lee, hahahha a video of each would be awesome LOL