How to pair up a flame hawkfish

[nickman]

Id like to get another flame hawkfish to pair up with my current one but since Ive had he/she for nearly 5 years now id only attempt it if there is minimal risk involved. I have seen established pairs available for sale but have found very little info on creating a pair.

Id like to hear what other people have tried, what worked and didnt work. Was there any significant aggression? indifference? how quickly was a bond formed if at all?

Thanks in advance!
-Nick

 

[nickman]

anyone? how about a reliable way to differentiate between males and females?

 

[GoingPostal]

My understanding the male would be the larger of the pair so perhaps try finding the smallest available? I got mine as a pair already although for many months they seemed to ignore each other and stay apart, now they interact somewhat and will perch close to each other.

 

[nickman]

mine is pretty small and has stayed small over the years. i see pretty big ones in the stores but im afraid to asume they are bigger because they are males and not just because they have been in the ocean vs. an infinitely smaller tank.

Im assuming that your pair is in your 135, is this true? Did you notice any aggression at all? Mine is so friendly now he'll even perch on my finger when he's hungry. Id really hate to screw that up, maybe ill just skip it and wait til I up-size again or experiment in a different tank.

Anyway, thanks for the input.

-Nick

 

[Moort82]

I'd personally leave it I would love to do the same ut an in a similar situation with having it on its own for several years.
The trouble i'd see is that it will have claimed the whole tank and adding a new one will definately be seen as a sign of invasion. Its much better to do this at the start when you can add them both together.
One big and one small is good as if they are like the longnosed, they start off as female and develop into males where need be. Therefore the more dominant fish of the two will become the male and keep the female under wraps.

 

[GoingPostal]

Yes mine are in the 135, no aggression between them other than some slight chasing in the beginning, pretty much if the little one went by the larger one but now they are fine. I was a little worried because obviously they were shipped in separate bags but didn't seem to be an issue.

 

[nickman]

sounds like ill be waiting to do this until i get my 120 back up and running.

you think i could get away with putting a pair of long nose hawks in a 33 cube? it would be them and a mated pair or Talbot's Damsels. Again, Im mostly concerned about aggression between the hawks and I do have another tank so I could separate them if need be. I just think they would make a great focus in the tank with lots of branch rock and soft corals....now to track some down.

 

[nickman]

ok, i have ordered 2 (not a "pair") longnose hawkfish and will be giving this a shot. Both will be going into a 33 cube as stated before and ill document the process.

I have access to 2 more LNH at work (wish id waited to order mine!) if this pair doesnt get along ill see what i can do with those and try to mix a small one with a larger one.

wish me luck!

-Nick

 

[nickman]

Update: after many PMs and 3 weeks of waiting for my 2 longnose hawks the wholesaler forgot to put my (and only my) fish in the box. Luckily my work still had 2 in separate tanks. I snapped those up and put them in my 33 cube. They both ate frozen mysis and ghost shrimp the same night.
Now, after only a week and a half they perching together! There was minimal aggression initially and think that the.pair of Talbots damsels being territorial may have actually helped the process by giving the dominant LN something else to worry about. The (slightly) smaller LN spent most of her time on the sand because the dominant one had claimed the top branches of the liverock and would chase her away. Despite this, the male would "visit" her from time to time and flare his fins at her and nudge her occasionally. That went on from day one and continued until this morning. To my surprise, I got home from work to find them on the same branch! The female actually perched on top of the male twice in the 20 min I watched them before leaving!
I may have lucked out but I'm much more optimistic about pairing my flame hawk when I move my main reef back into my 120. I feel.that introducing them at the same time is important if they are the same size so they can decide who is dominant.


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