Keeping fish in pairs and groups

[fishermania]

ozadars - if you are tallking about a royal gramma then yes they can. I know someone you succesfully did this by buying a large speciman and a very small speimen that was ajuv. They became a pair. I am not sure, but you may ne able to form a harem. Wiht one arger mail, and several smaller females. You need to check that though.

 

[ozadars]

Thanx fisher but i m not talking about royal grammas, i mean royal dottyback (bicolor dottyback)

 

[Preds]

8 Pseudanthias parvirostris (1 male, 7 female.) - No breeding yet.
6 Blue Reef Chromis - no breeding as yet
2 Pearly Jawfish - spawn regularly, no young raised.
2 Flame Angels - they cohabit fairly peacefully. I know someone who kept two for over 3 years, but one day one just turned on the other one. We'll see what happens.
2 Banggai Cardinals - I think they're both males. Will soon be swapping the recessive one for a couple of captive bred Banggais.

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

ozadars,

sorry but I am not familiar with the english common names. Which one is it???

 

[fishermania]

I think he refering to Pseudochromis paccagnella

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

Thanks for the help I was hoping it was not the one...

The P.paccagnella ist knonw as the most aggressive one. But this could be due to not keeping them in pairs. I never tried this out. Could be a challenge.

 

[downset]

well peter, i am trying to pair them up right now.i had what i think is a female in the tank and yesterday i added what i think is a male there is a littlte fighting but it seems to be calming this morning

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

Sounds interessting .. keep me postet please.
Good luck

 

[downset]

They stopped fighting,but they arent swimming together,they stay on the same side of the tank which is encouraging

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

If they stopped fighting it should work out.

 

[Periclimenes]

Can dwarf hawkfish be kept in pairs?

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

Sorry, but this comon name does not ring any bell in my old brain (?

 

[ozadars]

downset which fish are you talking about?

 

[fishermania]

I believe he's talking about Cirrhitichthys aprinus

 

[Periclimenes]

I'm talking about Cirrhitichthys falco.

 

[downset]

wetmorella or the possum wrasse

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

Hi Periclimenes,

we keep the C. armatus and the C.typus in pairs. I have not heard about the falco. But all hawkfish I see while diving stay in pairs. IMO there is nothing which speaks against keeping them in a pair.

The problem will to find a male / female as they are not to sex. From all mating couples I have seen it was easy to tell the female as they where much more round in the belly area. Best would be to pick two out of a group in your LFS - if they keep them in groups and not single. Thats how I found my pair of C.typus

 

[JohnM99]

Hi Peter
Thank you for starting such an interesting thread.

Can you provide more details on pairing Zebrasoma flavescens - Yellow Tang - given that these fish are often incompatible, it would be important to know the factors that lead to compatibility and incompatibility - age/size, method of introduction, site of origin, tank and feeding conditions etc.

I see you are a diver - I have often watched these fish underwater in Hawaii, and find them endlessly fascinating.

Cheers
John

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

John,

this is nat easy to say as these fish dont show and signs in sexing them.

Most people who tried to keep them in a group ended up in one pair. My pair comes from a privat tank where htey started as a group.

Basically we try to start eithr with two really small fish, or you combine a bigger and a smaller fish. It mostly works fine, but of course not always. I had for instance bad luck with S.vulpinius and P.narvarchus with this methode.

Anyway if you see the any fish showing his natural mating and spawning behavoir you know that you did the right thing

 

[David M]

Well I sort of hate to double post like this, but there seems to be two nearly identicle threads so here goes:

Finally a thread I can really sink my teeth into. Pairs and groups are the BEST way to enjoy many fish IMO, they are just so much more interesting. OK- what I have kept:
The basics, clownfish and seahorses, many species of each. Successful breeding of both and rearing of sh fry.
Mandarins- both species in pairs, no spawning.
Red Scooter blennies- spawning pair.
Flame angels, pairs and groups up to 5. What I would call "pre-spawning" behavior observed in one pair, lost female to open top.
Pearlscale butterflies, two housed together, sexes unknown.
Whitespotted Bamboo sharks, male/female pair.
Chevron butterfly (C. trifasciallis). Unsuccessful at keeping two together, had to seperate.
Jackknife drum (avitar)- group of 3.
Red Faced butterfly (C. larvatus). Behavior indicated male/female pair but not confirmed. Tragically lost to my own stupidity at 6 months.
Orchid dottyback- breeding pair.
Fairy wrasse (C. ventrallis), one male with two females.
Pakistan butterflies, group of three.
Coral banded shrimp, two breding pairs.
Bangaii cardinals, breeding pairs and family groups.
Blue neon gobies, 2's and 3's
Queen angelfish- unsuccessful at keeping two small juvies together, had to seperate.
I get to set up and service tanks for others so can experiment a lot. I find the easiest way to establish a pair or trio is to start with 5 or 7 of the species in a large tank and let them work it out, removing any that need to be protected. For whatever reason odd numbers seem to work better. Starting with only two has failed too many times.