velvetelvis
Active member
Originally I was going to get a pair of bicinctus for my new 50 cube, but the shipping costs from the seller priced them out of my reach. I was disappointed, but as luck would have it, I came across two very beautiful "second-hand" GSMs this week: a female, about 3" long, that was traded in at a friend's coral farm; and a juvenile, about 1.5" long, that was traded in at my LFS. Since GSMs were the other species I'd been considering (and the female was only $10), I was very happy.
With the assistance of my LFS, I'm gambling on trying to pair them up. I brought the female in to my LFS (at their suggestion) today, and after acclimating her, they dropped her in the tank the juvenile was occupying. At first they didn't even seem to notice each other, but when they did, the juvenile quickly vacated the BTA he'd been occupying, then came back a moment later to face off with the female.
They spun in a circle for maybe 10 or 15 seconds (no biting) before the juvenile fled. He hung out at the top of the tank for a few minutes, then hid in a cave right under where the female was located. I watched them for about half an hour, during which time the female would periodically seek out the juvenile in his hiding place. They drew up alongside each other and kind of circled each other; finally, after about the third time, the juvenile did the submission-quiver. They never attacked each other and there was no jaw-locking or biting.
By the time I left (the store was closing) the female was still dividing her time between the BTA on top of the rock structure and visits to the juvenile below it. You could tell they were still wary of each other, but I didn't witness any aggression. I'm cautiously optimistic that they'll turn out to be compatible. The LFS owner said that 24 hours should be long enough to tell whether or not they're going to get along, so...here's hoping I get to bring them both home tomorrow!
With the assistance of my LFS, I'm gambling on trying to pair them up. I brought the female in to my LFS (at their suggestion) today, and after acclimating her, they dropped her in the tank the juvenile was occupying. At first they didn't even seem to notice each other, but when they did, the juvenile quickly vacated the BTA he'd been occupying, then came back a moment later to face off with the female.
They spun in a circle for maybe 10 or 15 seconds (no biting) before the juvenile fled. He hung out at the top of the tank for a few minutes, then hid in a cave right under where the female was located. I watched them for about half an hour, during which time the female would periodically seek out the juvenile in his hiding place. They drew up alongside each other and kind of circled each other; finally, after about the third time, the juvenile did the submission-quiver. They never attacked each other and there was no jaw-locking or biting.
By the time I left (the store was closing) the female was still dividing her time between the BTA on top of the rock structure and visits to the juvenile below it. You could tell they were still wary of each other, but I didn't witness any aggression. I'm cautiously optimistic that they'll turn out to be compatible. The LFS owner said that 24 hours should be long enough to tell whether or not they're going to get along, so...here's hoping I get to bring them both home tomorrow!
Did you see signs of aggression from the beginning, or did it come as a complete surprise? I'm glad she accepted the next one--do you still have them?
