trackhazard
New member
Just wanted to share my experiences pairing up these fish.
Tank is 3'x2'x22" and currently houses two yellow tailed damsels, a yellow assessor and a 3.5" or so flame angel. The existing one has a relatively pointed anal fin so I am fairly certain its a male. I went to the LFS and picked up a smaller flame with a more rounded anal fin which would indicate it is a female. The female is approximately 1.5"-2".
After reading numerous threads here on RC and elsewhere, I realized that I should go slow and let the fish get used to each other. I started off by placing the female in a critter keeper held onto the top of the tank with my mag float. I placed a piece of rock in the keeper so the female could hide if it needed to.
The male came to investigate but didn't seem to make any aggressive moves. The female seemed uninterested in the male and seemed more intent on getting out of the critter keeper. The damsels also came out to investigate but seeing that the new fish seemed to be confined to the box and would not invade their territory, they quickly went about their business.
I left the female in the keeper for a day. The next day, I moved the critter keeper with the female down to the bottom of the tank next to the rocks. The fish again came to investigate as now the newcomer was moving into their territory. Again, no aggression showed by anyone although the male flame angel spent a majority of its time grazing near the keeper. He would occasionally rub up against the keeper when the female came close.
It seemed to me at this point that the pair might work. I left the keeper with the female at the bottom of the tank for another day. The next morning, I let her loose.
The male swam over and the female would curve her body, possibly showing submission and then would swim off to graze. Its been a couple of days and I haven't seen any aggression between the two or from any of my other fish. They will occasionally swim together while grazing but will also end up on opposite sides of the tank. The male will occasionally swim over to "check up" on her. The female seems to do her own thing and not pay him much mind.
I know it is still early but hopefully this will be a good pairing.
Charlie
Tank is 3'x2'x22" and currently houses two yellow tailed damsels, a yellow assessor and a 3.5" or so flame angel. The existing one has a relatively pointed anal fin so I am fairly certain its a male. I went to the LFS and picked up a smaller flame with a more rounded anal fin which would indicate it is a female. The female is approximately 1.5"-2".
After reading numerous threads here on RC and elsewhere, I realized that I should go slow and let the fish get used to each other. I started off by placing the female in a critter keeper held onto the top of the tank with my mag float. I placed a piece of rock in the keeper so the female could hide if it needed to.
The male came to investigate but didn't seem to make any aggressive moves. The female seemed uninterested in the male and seemed more intent on getting out of the critter keeper. The damsels also came out to investigate but seeing that the new fish seemed to be confined to the box and would not invade their territory, they quickly went about their business.
I left the female in the keeper for a day. The next day, I moved the critter keeper with the female down to the bottom of the tank next to the rocks. The fish again came to investigate as now the newcomer was moving into their territory. Again, no aggression showed by anyone although the male flame angel spent a majority of its time grazing near the keeper. He would occasionally rub up against the keeper when the female came close.
It seemed to me at this point that the pair might work. I left the keeper with the female at the bottom of the tank for another day. The next morning, I let her loose.
The male swam over and the female would curve her body, possibly showing submission and then would swim off to graze. Its been a couple of days and I haven't seen any aggression between the two or from any of my other fish. They will occasionally swim together while grazing but will also end up on opposite sides of the tank. The male will occasionally swim over to "check up" on her. The female seems to do her own thing and not pay him much mind.
I know it is still early but hopefully this will be a good pairing.
Charlie
