Wiedertäufer
Mar 5th 2008, 04:24 PM
Detective Gills hated nights like tonight. He got the call just after he had stopped moving and gone to sleep for the night. A body had been found.
The detective swam over the scene and approached the officer on duty. "What do we got Sgt Scales?"
"Looks like a crime of passion, Detective." Sergeant Scales answered. "A real mess. I haven't seen anything like it in all my years on the beat."
"Yeah, you're looking a little green behind the gills, Scales." remarked the detective, noticing Scales' shaken appearance. "I'll handle it from here. I'll call you if I need anything."
Detective Gills had seen this before. He was called in on all these cases. And he found exactly what he was expecting. The poor juvenile fish had the fins on his tail, his pectoral fins and even large sections of his dorsal fin torn clean off. There was also evidence of savage bite marks on his face.
The coroner arrived and the body was loaded into the green net. Gills new that the autopsy would give a few more clues, but he already knew where to start.
The juvenile was a Cutter's Cichlid. And there were only 3 of them in these parts. A mated pair and this young male. If there was a mating dispute, it'd be over the female.
In situations like this, he knew what they'd do. They wouldn't try to run as there was likely some eggs they were protecting. Nope. They'd lawyer up. Claim self defense.
It'd never even go to trial.
------
My mated pair of Cutter's cichlids laid eggs again. The next day I found the third one I had (a tiny stunted male who thought he was all that despite being a third of the size of the other two). I think he got in the way and they ripped him to shreds.
When I did my research on Cutter's Cichlids, I read that they 1) don't eat plants, 2) don't dig and 3) are docile and friendly.
So far they
1) eat every shred of dark green moss they can get their fins on as well as eating the roots and rhizome shoots of my pygmy chain swords.
2) dig out the substrate under the driftwood to make a cave for their eggs.
3) savagely attacked the smaller fish once they had spawned (before, they'd chase him, but only away and never to the point of catching him. Being smaller, he had lots of choice hiding spots. As well, the other two picked half of the tank and never really venture into the other half).
I probably should have moved him into his own tank or found him another female or maybe just added a small school of dither fish to keep the mated pair busy.
He lived with them for four months with only minor chasing (most of the time they hung out with him just fine) and then they lay eggs and overnight I find him dead.
Even the "nice" cichlids are meany fish.
The detective swam over the scene and approached the officer on duty. "What do we got Sgt Scales?"
"Looks like a crime of passion, Detective." Sergeant Scales answered. "A real mess. I haven't seen anything like it in all my years on the beat."
"Yeah, you're looking a little green behind the gills, Scales." remarked the detective, noticing Scales' shaken appearance. "I'll handle it from here. I'll call you if I need anything."
Detective Gills had seen this before. He was called in on all these cases. And he found exactly what he was expecting. The poor juvenile fish had the fins on his tail, his pectoral fins and even large sections of his dorsal fin torn clean off. There was also evidence of savage bite marks on his face.
The coroner arrived and the body was loaded into the green net. Gills new that the autopsy would give a few more clues, but he already knew where to start.
The juvenile was a Cutter's Cichlid. And there were only 3 of them in these parts. A mated pair and this young male. If there was a mating dispute, it'd be over the female.
In situations like this, he knew what they'd do. They wouldn't try to run as there was likely some eggs they were protecting. Nope. They'd lawyer up. Claim self defense.
It'd never even go to trial.
------
My mated pair of Cutter's cichlids laid eggs again. The next day I found the third one I had (a tiny stunted male who thought he was all that despite being a third of the size of the other two). I think he got in the way and they ripped him to shreds.
When I did my research on Cutter's Cichlids, I read that they 1) don't eat plants, 2) don't dig and 3) are docile and friendly.
So far they
1) eat every shred of dark green moss they can get their fins on as well as eating the roots and rhizome shoots of my pygmy chain swords.
2) dig out the substrate under the driftwood to make a cave for their eggs.
3) savagely attacked the smaller fish once they had spawned (before, they'd chase him, but only away and never to the point of catching him. Being smaller, he had lots of choice hiding spots. As well, the other two picked half of the tank and never really venture into the other half).
I probably should have moved him into his own tank or found him another female or maybe just added a small school of dither fish to keep the mated pair busy.
He lived with them for four months with only minor chasing (most of the time they hung out with him just fine) and then they lay eggs and overnight I find him dead.
Even the "nice" cichlids are meany fish.