Social status is an important aspect of animal behavior, as it can influence access to resources, mates, and other benefits. In fishes, social status is often negotiated through aggressive interactions, with dominant individuals typically winning these interactions and gaining access to the best resources. However, the speed at which these interactions occur can vary depending on the species of fish. In this study, we investigated how the speed of aggressive interactions is related to social status in two species of cichlid fishes, Astatotilapia burtoni and Neolamprologus pulcher. We found that in both species, dominant individuals were able to win aggressive interactions more quickly than subordinate individuals. This suggests that the speed of aggressive interactions may be an important factor in determining social status in fishes.

To conduct this study, we first established dominance hierarchies in groups of A. burtoni and N. pulcher. We then staged aggressive interactions between dominant and subordinate individuals from each species, and recorded the time it took for each interaction to be resolved. We found that in both species, dominant individuals were able to win aggressive interactions significantly more quickly than subordinate individuals. This difference was particularly pronounced in N. pulcher, where dominant individuals were able to win interactions in an average of 10 seconds, while subordinate individuals took an average of 25 seconds to lose.

In addition to the speed of aggressive interactions, we also measured the intensity of these interactions. We found that dominant individuals were more likely to engage in high-intensity aggressive behaviors, such as biting and chasing, than subordinate individuals. This suggests that the speed of aggressive interactions may be related to the intensity of those interactions.

Our study provides evidence that the speed of aggressive interactions is an important factor in determining social status in fishes. Dominant individuals are able to win aggressive interactions more quickly than subordinate individuals, and this may be due to the fact that dominant individuals are more likely to engage in high-intensity aggressive behaviors. This suggests that the speed of aggressive interactions may be an important aspect of social behavior in fishes.