These are some things I noticed while watching them interact with others:
- When they have clear red/orange eyes, they are happy and content. I have not witnessed any of them make any kind of an attack in this 'mood'.
- Can change their skin color at will, and in doing so their eyes will also tell you what mood it is in.
- Regular colors are the ones you see in the JJPhoto picture of a Cochinchinensis in the Pedia.
- Full body light colored ----> Frightened or Aggravated. When they do this, they also change the color of their eye to an iridescent.
- Full body dark colored ----> Kill mode, Mad, Hungry (Hunt mode), Hiding (Stealth, ready to attack), or he is simply letting everyone else know, "HEY! if you come near me, I WILL bite your face off." In 'Kill Mode' their eyes will change to a very dark red color in the back with an iridescence on top.
-In cloudy water, they will mix-match these modes and look very silly, but cleverly blended with surroundings rendering them near invisible to a quickly scanning eye. Though they are not actually invisible, this combination of color makes it very hard to see them even from just a few inches away.
So basically if its eyes are iridescent in any way shape or form, it is either very angry or not a happy camper. You can tell the difference between Angry and scared by its location in the tank. If angry he will be swimming/hovering, guarding his bubble. If not happy or scared he will be resting on the floor, kind of hiding/blending color and he will allow others to pass by him, even move out of the way at times.
It appears as though they are not violent as we may have thought. Don't get me wrong.. they CAN be... however they warn you first. If another puffer or fish were to curiously enter the angry/hunting Cochinchinensis puffer's little territorial bubble ( approx. 3 - 5 inches around him on every side), then he will ward them off. No attack is made, but he makes it very clear that he wants the intruder out of his bubble. He will charge the intruder very angrily and quickly, however, no attempt to inflict damage is made. It is a simple warning to scram.
If this intruder repeatedly enters the Cochinchinensis' territory bubble, he will attempt a kill strike. They are very very skilled fighters. They don't just make a blind attack. They are precise enough to remove the eye of another fish and that is it. Just a clean, fast "haha, I got your eye, sucker!" If the fish intruder is small ( Rosy Red size ), the Cochinchinensis will wait patiently for the prey to enter his 'bubble' and when they get too close, it's over. Rosy often found in 2 pieces (tail in tummy, head on bottom of tank..soon to follow). These fish WILL eat other fish and actually enjoy doing so. So I'd say they are Piscavores. I often find them stalking the smaller crayfish in the tank, tactically removing their legs/claws one by one. They are smart enough to attack the belly of an armored fish. No armor = easy kill. I have witnessed them kill an intruder and leave it to die, with no intentions of eating it. I have also seen them kill with insane accuracy and swiftness. As in: Ghost shrimp is attacked by another fish and is missed but rapidly moves backwards to avoid the bite. In turn, not seeing the Cochinchinensis cleverly stealthed (who is also not paying attention, facing the opposite direction) bumps into the Cochinchinensis. As soon as the Ghost Shrimp touched the Cochinchinensis, he was bitten in half and left to die. All in the blink of an eye. The ghost shrimp scared the Cochinchinensis and in turn got pwnd rather fast in retaliation.
As for where they hang out in the tank:
One of mine likes to chill just underneath a plant that floats on the water's surface. This particular one is literally fearless. All my smaller puffers get a little frightened by my fingers if they get too close to the tank glass. This Cochinchinensis on the other hand will not budge. He sits there and looks at you like, "Yea.. so... you have a finger, good for you. Now get out of my face or I will kill you."
The second Cochinchinensis I have is a little more easily scared. He acts the same as the other Cochinchinensis, but he is scared a lot easier. Often he backs down to the above mentioned and waits his turn. (He is also smaller, so that might change with age).
Finally the mis-shaped puffer. I am not sure exactly what he is yet, but he is the only one to have changed COMPLETELY black, while hiding in a corner. I almost couldn't see him in the shadows. Thats what is throwing me off atm. The other two have never gone total black, but have come close, showing just a little green/yellow here and there. This guy was pure black for a good 10 mins then went back to normal colors.
Feel free to comment and please do.
-UMB
