wayne in norway
New member
My dwarfs have settled in happily. One week in now... and both swimming together and eating flake.
Get them small.
Get them small.
Keeping fish in pairs and groups
- Thread starter Peter Schmiedel
- Start date
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
Peter- what exactly was the outcome with these fishes?
KDDG
New member
We are currently building our 300 Gal Reef. I really want to do pairs &/ or groups. I really like the idea of keeping several small fish in groups and pairs. But, I would like a couple of larger pairs as well. I am thinking about maybe a Bellus Angel pair or a pair of Blue Jaw Triggers. Does anyone else have those or what do you think?
overflowin
New member
Any long term success stories? I've always been fascinated with keeping multiple individuals of a species. Thought I'd revive this thread to see what people are keeping these days.
OrionN
Moved on
This is such a great thread. Need to be bring back from the deep.
I would also add these fish have spawned in aquarium, from my personal experiences:
Amphiprion ocellaris
Amphiprion percula
Gramma loreto
Chrysiptera parasema
Centropyge loricula
Calloplesiops altivelis
Pterapogon kauderni
Synchiropus splendidus
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ThRoewer
New member
Here are two threads I started on this topic with a compilation of scientific articles about why fish form pairs:
Pair- Formation in Coral Reef Fishes
There is actually more to pairing up than reproduction. In fact many pairs form rather for mutual protection and support than reproduction.
This thread is more specialized on angelfish:
Pair and spawning behavior of Angelfish (Pomacanthidae)
Pair- Formation in Coral Reef Fishes
There is actually more to pairing up than reproduction. In fact many pairs form rather for mutual protection and support than reproduction.
This thread is more specialized on angelfish:
Pair and spawning behavior of Angelfish (Pomacanthidae)
OrionN
Moved on
you can always look them up 
My list is really easy. I don't have to look them up so:
Amphiprion ocellaris: Ocellaris clown
Amphiprion percula: Percular clown
Gramma loreto: Royal Gramma
Chrysiptera parasema: Yellow tail damselfish
Centropyge loricula: Flame angel
Calloplesiops altivelis: Marine Betta
Pterapogon kauderni: Banggail cardinal
Synchiropus splendidus : Green Mandarin
My list is really easy. I don't have to look them up so:
Amphiprion ocellaris: Ocellaris clown
Amphiprion percula: Percular clown
Gramma loreto: Royal Gramma
Chrysiptera parasema: Yellow tail damselfish
Centropyge loricula: Flame angel
Calloplesiops altivelis: Marine Betta
Pterapogon kauderni: Banggail cardinal
Synchiropus splendidus : Green Mandarin
Bodianus bimaculatus- yellow candy hogfish
Apogon magriphora- ?
Wettmorella niripiniata- yellow banded possum wrasse
Discordipinna griessingeri- griessingei goby/ spikefin goby
Priolepis nocturna- black barred convict goby
Trimma cana- red striped goby
Tryssogobius colini- Colin's fairy goby
Emblemaria pandionis- sailfin blenny
Gramma linkii- yellow lined basslet
Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis- chevron tang
Centropyge flavissimus- lemon peel angelfish
Centropyge potteri- potters angelfish
Liopropoma carmabi- candy basslet
Premnas biaculeatus- maroon clownfish
Coryphopterus personatus- masked goby
Valenciennea wardi- tiger watchman goby
Signigobius biocellatus- two spot goby
Discordipinna griessingeri- spikefin goby
Caracanthus unipiniata- ?
Eviota bifasciata- twostripe eviota
Helcogramma striata- striped triplefin blenny
Pseudojuloides severnsi- royal pencil wrasse
Cirrhilabrus lineatus- lineatus fairy wrasse
Hope that helps
I'm curious... Can anyone explain how to pair fishes that are not obviously sexually dimorphic? I know that clownfish, dwarf angels, and wrasses will change sex so that you end up with a pair if you keep several young ones together. Is this true of other types of fish also? I am interested in trying to pair gobies or blennies. Does anyone have experience with how to actually do this?
ThRoewer
New member
Gobies change sex bidirectional so pairing them shouldn't be a big issue. Some, like yashas, have color differences between male and female.
Blennies do not change sex. With some the differences between male and female are so dramatic that you may not even recognize them as members of the same species. With those it is unfortunately also quite common that only the more colorful males get imported.
With combtooth and fang blennies it is nearly impossible to tell males from females without looking at their genitals under a microscope.
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Blennies do not change sex. With some the differences between male and female are so dramatic that you may not even recognize them as members of the same species. With those it is unfortunately also quite common that only the more colorful males get imported.
With combtooth and fang blennies it is nearly impossible to tell males from females without looking at their genitals under a microscope.
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Great thread. I try where possible to pair up my fish. Currently have a pair of Centropyge potteri that are spawning regularly. It is such an added dimension to observe this part of their behavior.
Others I have sucessfully gotten to pair up-
green mandarin
clownfish- (4 species)
bangai cardinalfish
The angelfish pair so far has been the most interesting. I started with a medium sized one and then a month later added a small one.
Others I have sucessfully gotten to pair up-
green mandarin
clownfish- (4 species)
bangai cardinalfish
The angelfish pair so far has been the most interesting. I started with a medium sized one and then a month later added a small one.
Christian J
New member
Zebrasoma scopas: 3.
Zebrasoma flavescens: 2.
My specimens chased and threatened each other a bit during the first week(s), especially in the evenings (over sleeping places, it seemed). Adding all specimens at the same time should help reduce aggression, otherwise try placing a new arrival in a cage for a few weeks until the others get used to it.
My tank is a 55gal, with lots of swimming space and just a little live rock. The fish were about 3" long when I bought them (juveniles) and died of ich the same year, so I can't say how they'd behave long term.
Zebrasoma flavescens: 2.
My specimens chased and threatened each other a bit during the first week(s), especially in the evenings (over sleeping places, it seemed). Adding all specimens at the same time should help reduce aggression, otherwise try placing a new arrival in a cage for a few weeks until the others get used to it.
My tank is a 55gal, with lots of swimming space and just a little live rock. The fish were about 3" long when I bought them (juveniles) and died of ich the same year, so I can't say how they'd behave long term.
ThRoewer
New member
55 gallon is way too small for 5 tangs, so the deaths of them may have been stress induced with Cryptocaryon just being another symptom rather than the primary problem.
Zebrasoma tangs are probably the best for pairing attempts. But I would not try it in anything less than a 125 gallon tank, ideally much larger.
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