On Tue, 12 Sep 2006 10:31:02 +0100, AlecTPR
wrote:


They all seem a lot more active at this time. I've also noticed the
shubunchkin seems to follow the other fish around a lot. Either this is
in play or fight, I'm not sure. It looks like he's nippling at they're
tails most of the time.

Shubunkin aren't fighters, but they bump the females in the belly with
their noses to encourage them to release eggs during mating season.
I've never seen one nip a tail fin either and I'm sure they don't eat
small fry if they recognize it as a fish, so he is probably trying to
work up a little fish sex with the girls, but they may be going
through a development stage and this may pass over as play. Yes, they
do play. I dropped a water hose in one day to top off and watched a
couple swim into the flow to be swept away and circle back to start
again. It isn't unusual for them to become active at feeding time and
some get really friendly and eat right out of your hand.

Obviously, I'm unsure of the sex of the fish, how can you tell?

Females usually have bigger bellies for eggs and most of my males are
longer (thinner) with longer fins although I do have a couple long
finned females that I thought might be males. I just watch to see
who is chasing who, and most of the time several males will be chasing
a female.