General Care Discussion :: Midnight Snacker

[paul939]

I work late and when I come home I override the timer connected to my tank lights and flick them on to check up on everyone inside. The past few days when I have done this, one of my two hatchlings goes berserk and starts trying to eat everything else in the tank. Last night he went on a guppy killing spree of 4 or 5. I had had the same 6 guppies in that tank for nearly a week and in about 5 minutes they were almost gone. I came home tonight and he picked off 3 more and even unsuccessfully went after my larger Tetras (almost the same size as my hatchlings), which I had never seen before. I feed them in the middle of the day usually and have their timer for heat lamp and UVB from 8am to 9pm. Anyone else ever experienced this before?? It's really cool to watch him run rampant on the guppies (not so much on the tetras!) but I'm curious as to why it happens in the middle of the night

[Jeremiah]

My first guess would be that it's an adrenaline thing. Suddenly experiencing what is (for the turtle) a huge burst of light probably freaks it out, sending it into "fight-or-flight" mode. Seeing that the surrounding organisms are less dangerous than itself, "fight" takes over and culminates with a literal snack attack.

[paul939]

Haha, wonder why the other hatchling doesnt do it though?

[paul939]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... 1624289231

[steve]

I've seen my RES get spooked but not go on a snack rage, though the tank is bare.

[Peva]

The sudden light probably convinces it that it's morning time and it needs to eat! The other Fish are probably more used to constant attentiveness so can more easily react to the turtle chasing them at specific times (like the morning) is my guess.

[paul939]

Either way, it's fun to watch him go nuts on the minnows lol.