Tuesday, November 19, 2024

The Smallest Fighting Fish

 
The Smallest Fighting Fish

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Least Killifish, scientific name Heterandria formosa, is the smallest livebearer fish in the same family with Guppy and Molly fish.
Adult Least Killifish grow less than one inch long.
Here you can see a family of Least Killifish.


The one year old female is the largest fish while being about a coin size.


Here is a close up view of the beautiful female.
 A tiny size fish with a big attitude.


Do not cross with her!

Feeding time.

Least Killifish prefer live food over anything else.
Here you can see Least Killifish male and babies feed on Grindal worms.

They carefully pick one worm at a time.
There are hundreds of worms to choose from - more than enough for one feeding.


And here comes the big mama fish grabbing worms fast.
Pregnant females consume much more food than males and baby fish.


The big mama fish claims her dominance. 



And the male knows better than stay in her way.
Babies also avoid messing with their angry mom - she is not playing around!

Least Killifish could be very rough toward each other as no other livebearers fish.
And I mean it not just about hungry mamas!



Least Killifish noticeably more aggressive than their larger genetical relatives Guppy and Endlers.
Least Killifish of all genders are fighters.

Least Killifish babies learn to fight at a very young age.

Here you can see about 4-6 weeks old babies are in a ready-to-fight body positions.



Catch me if you can is a fun game to play...until the game turns into a very real fight.



Here you can see a very real fight between about one centimeter long babies.


This time the fight is not about the food.
Both babies are trying to hurt each other in a full body contact.
Very tiny fish with the attitude of big fighters!



An older sibling shows up to check on the fighters...
And he got hit by the smaller baby!
Well, that was a silly mistake on the baby part.
Now all babies have to run away from an angry older sibling.
The younger, smaller Least Killifish often challenge older bigger fish.








Here you can see a baby is teasing the big mom - isn't it something 🙂
A tiny fighter is not afraid to challenge a much larger fish!
Learning to fight is essential for Least Killifish survival.

Adult males spend most of their time fighting and chasing competitors away from so desirable female.
And it's the female who tests your fighting skills and persistence for real!





The Least Killifish males follow the female but never stay on her path.



A coin sized Least Killifish are very skillful fighters.
And they use different strategies to achieve goals.

They know how to fight, use distraction, and when to stand their ground.
Very interesting fish to watch - but you have to get close to the aquarium to see them 😊
Please check my previous videos.

Have fun and happy fish 🙂




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