I introduced a trio of young Bangaii Cardinals to my tank about 4 months ago. Two weeks ago a pair formed out of the three. The third cardinal stayed away from the two and other than some very brief chasing there was no other aggression. I've been trying to catch the third cardinal since. I wanted to move it to my refugium until I could find it a suitable home. Two days ago the pair diligently kept the third cardinal on the other side of the tank. A lot more chasing than before. I saw the next morning the pair had spawned. The female has now left the male carrying the eggs and is acting as a pair with the other cardinal, who i now presume is also a male. What do I do?
Bangaii Cardinal Love Triangle?
- Thread starter jerpa
- Start date
BigBarnacles
New member
She's a tramp!
Jolleyreefs
New member
IMO the best thing to do would be keep them. You could alternate males to ensure they are well fed before holding eggs and fasting, but definitely keep the males separated. By alternating them it will allow the other to recover from holding eggs.
Now that I can presume their sexes, I have seen no aggression between the males. The female was the one chasing the other male away. If i can catch the second male i could keep him in my refugium if necessary.
Wolverine
Premium Member
Every once in a while I've seen people get away with this. The female will basically go between them dropping off eggs every 2 weeks or so, so the males will be off-cycle from each other. Often the system breaks down eventually, but not always. Sometimes the males basically set up camp at opposite sides of the tank. The times I've seen it work have been in larger tanks, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen in yours.
