Firefish in groups?

[marc111]

So I have one Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica). I only added one because Scott Michael's book reef fishes says that if multiple are added they will harass each other.

On the other hand when I see these in the local fish store in 20 gal tanks they are groups and seem to be behaving themselves.

Anyone have any experience with these as a group??

I have a 250 gal reef tank.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[SoloChromis]

Normally fish in a LFS aren't there long enough to establish a territory for themselves, leaving them with nothing to defend. I added a trio of firefish to my 120 and all 3 vanished, with one popping back up about a week later only to vanish again for good. I have never seen a true "school" of firefish, rather multiples with sporadic territories around the tank, where they each have their own bolt hole to shoot into when frightened.

 

[Duke4130]

If they are all added at the same time you will not have a problem... I have three in the tank for about a year and recently added 2 more... It didn't go over well for the new residence. One jumped and the other is still in the tank but it doesn't swim with the others.. No fighting or anything but isn't part of the group

 

[AntiSatan]

I added 2 red and 1 purple at same time and they get along. 1 red died after a week but the other red and purple hang out together 6 months no problems.

 

[eatbreakfast]

In the wild they are densely populated and in close proximity to conspecifics, but this in no way makes them social with each other. Rather, they ill form pair bonds and defend their territory against other firefish, but their territories are small enough that when seen by divers looks quite social.

Think of it as a city or suburbs. There are neighbors that live nearby, but if a neighbor tried to use your home and take your food you would behave aggresively to them. The same principle is at work here. In smaller tanks or new fish added to existing ones territories are already claimed so the intruder is dealt with. Firefish of other species may be tolerated more than conspecifics, but they are still closely related and therefore recognized as competition and may soon face the aggressive attention of the existing firefish.

Pairing these fish is also difficult with hit and miss results. Firefish of the same species and gender do not tolerate one another. And sexing them is near impossible as they are not sexualy dimorphic. It is also not known currently whether they are hermaphrodites that grow into gender roles or whether they are born male and female.

 

[marc111]

Thanks everyone I appreciate the feedback. I wil stay with one for now.

Mark

 

[Betta132]

Think of it as a city or suburbs. There are neighbors that live nearby, but if a neighbor tried to use your home and take your food you would behave aggressively to them.

This greatly amuses me. Just the mental image...