Multiple male flame wrasse compatibility
- Thread starter SDguy
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jmaneyapanda
Commencing hatred
I had the same happen to me, save two females became sub-males. All was fine, because my supermale was a maniac. But, one day, he jumped in the overflow, and in the 24 hours he was gone, WWIII broke out, and even when he was re-introduced, it did not stop. I ended up with 3 dead males, and 1 female.
I guess, in your situation, Im guessing it will be OK, but I dont knwo how long it will last long term.
I guess, in your situation, Im guessing it will be OK, but I dont knwo how long it will last long term.
That's my concern. My male was never really aggressive, or even dominant at all, really, save for his size. Not that he was ever pushed around by any of the females. He just never really chased them at all.
You can see them both here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16277183&postcount=71
You can see them both here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16277183&postcount=71
Last edited:
jmaneyapanda
Commencing hatred
Ah, your case may be different then. My male a was a deviant. He spend 12 housr a day flashing at anything and everything. I was very surprised to see two of teh female sswitch with him carrying on like that. I just knwo that when it started, it was impossibel to stop, short of removing fish. Once I returned the supermale (in hoping he would reestablish order), 1 submale was dead in a day, and the other submale a day later, and then 2 days after, the supermale died. They were all tattered to hell, and near impossible to catch.
I know im not helping much. Sorry.
I know im not helping much. Sorry.
Well, I just finally saw them in person last night. The original male is about 4.5 - 5 inches. The next sub male is about 3.5 - 4, and the remaining two females are about 2.5 inches.
When originally obtained, the females were literally no more than 1.5 - 2 inches, including tails.
When originally obtained, the females were literally no more than 1.5 - 2 inches, including tails.
It sounds as if you have one terminal male, one submale, and two females. You have a couple of possible scenarios. If the male is perceived to be weak (many do not ship well), the male in waiting will bump him off, but you may also have stasis. I hope the latter is the case.
29reef
It's all about the flow
Ed- your correct that pairs are best sometimes, but this isn't just a problem with flames this can occur with most wrasse species where the male and females have different colors.
Peter- it's been said already but I believe you'll run into a problem eventually. Usually you can just hope that the larger super male is an agressive one and chases the other sub males around and hopefully your tank is big enough for them to escape. Make sure your tank is 100% covered. The young males will jump out of the water to escape. Every time I hear my wrasses jump it scares me. The canopy is all closed up so they have nowhere to go but back into the tank. As long as I feed a lot everyone gets along well enough and no one gets hurt; except for the occasional chase around the tank. I'm keeping two C pylei varriants together with a few other wrasse species.
Peter- it's been said already but I believe you'll run into a problem eventually. Usually you can just hope that the larger super male is an agressive one and chases the other sub males around and hopefully your tank is big enough for them to escape. Make sure your tank is 100% covered. The young males will jump out of the water to escape. Every time I hear my wrasses jump it scares me. The canopy is all closed up so they have nowhere to go but back into the tank. As long as I feed a lot everyone gets along well enough and no one gets hurt; except for the occasional chase around the tank. I'm keeping two C pylei varriants together with a few other wrasse species.
That may have been the issue. While all three females adapted quickly, and ate anything and everything, the male was shy, and didn't really eat well for the first week or two. Hopefully now that he is just as well settled as the females, he can keep his dominant status.
No. Actually the best scenario is to buy a group of three of more females.
Yes, that is why I pictured two scenarios: I hope "stasis" is the one that is operative.
But I never see females offered for sale -- stores want the males, because they are the super colorful ones. I doesn't seem as though wrasses are offered the way anthias are -- based on gender. There are quite a few beautiful female fairy wrasse species. I just don't know how to obtain one.
The problem, at least with HI flames (C. jordani) is that the males have a relatively high mortality rate due to difficulty in shipping. Virtually all of the male fairy wrasses are more visually appealing, hence collection practices. Good for them, not as good for you.
I bought 5 female flame wrasses. One quickly became "super"- male. Now one of the other females has changed to sub-male. They have been like this for awhile with no problems. I watch them closely and is there is any aggression between the two.
I plan on removing the "weaker" one, if I see any signs of aggression. IMO if they can co-exist they should be fine, it's only natural to have a sub-male in waiting. If you have two males than your asking for trouble and one needs to be pulled out.
I plan on removing the "weaker" one, if I see any signs of aggression. IMO if they can co-exist they should be fine, it's only natural to have a sub-male in waiting. If you have two males than your asking for trouble and one needs to be pulled out.
I am in total agreement. If the harem evolves, the chance of maintaining the status quo is much, much greater than when changes occur during initial introduction. I have seen a supermale evolve in as little as two weeks.
wow... from female to supermale?
