Susan Lohrer
New member
I read in a few places you can pair up dottybacks, and then they'll pay attention to each other instead of terrorizing their tank mates. I really like the springeri dottyback, so I decided to try it.
Fish 1, the bigger one, came from Petco. I don't know if it came from the ocean or a tank. It's big enough that it shouldn't be juvenile anymore.
Fish 2 is tank bred. I got it from Saltwater Emporium in Coeur d'Alene, where I get most of my saltwater creatures. It's a little smaller than fish 1.
The tank I decided to introduce them to each other in is a 5-gallon tank, because my bigger quarantine tank is going to become a sump in a couple of weeks.
Within the first few minutes of releasing the two fish into the tank, it looked like it had been a grave mistake. Poor fish 1 got a real thumping and was pale and stressed. So I put fish 2 into a guppy breeding trap and let it cool its jets. The next day I made a tank divider out of plastic canvas (the kind you use for crafts) so nobody would have to be imprisoned in two cups of water.
The next morning, fish 1 had figured out a way past the tank divider and was schmoozing around with fish 2. He had his nice black color back and looked calm again. All day, they took turns following each other around. Once in a while, one would dart toward the other one, and then they would go back to cruising around and around and around their PVC cave (I got dizzy watching them).
I don't think they're technically a pair, because they sleep in different parts of the tank. Or do pairs sleep separately? At any rate, they seem to be friends. And fish 1 is doing a lot of bobbing and dancing this morning, as though trying to impress fish 2.
I'm cautiously optimistic.
Fish 1, the bigger one, came from Petco. I don't know if it came from the ocean or a tank. It's big enough that it shouldn't be juvenile anymore.
Fish 2 is tank bred. I got it from Saltwater Emporium in Coeur d'Alene, where I get most of my saltwater creatures. It's a little smaller than fish 1.
The tank I decided to introduce them to each other in is a 5-gallon tank, because my bigger quarantine tank is going to become a sump in a couple of weeks.
Within the first few minutes of releasing the two fish into the tank, it looked like it had been a grave mistake. Poor fish 1 got a real thumping and was pale and stressed. So I put fish 2 into a guppy breeding trap and let it cool its jets. The next day I made a tank divider out of plastic canvas (the kind you use for crafts) so nobody would have to be imprisoned in two cups of water.
The next morning, fish 1 had figured out a way past the tank divider and was schmoozing around with fish 2. He had his nice black color back and looked calm again. All day, they took turns following each other around. Once in a while, one would dart toward the other one, and then they would go back to cruising around and around and around their PVC cave (I got dizzy watching them).
I don't think they're technically a pair, because they sleep in different parts of the tank. Or do pairs sleep separately? At any rate, they seem to be friends. And fish 1 is doing a lot of bobbing and dancing this morning, as though trying to impress fish 2.
I'm cautiously optimistic.
