mandarin chick
New member
I had Cecile, a flame hawkfish for at least a year now. I had read in the forums that it was possible to introduce a mate, providing it was significantly smaller, and the two were watched to make sure the larger one did not hurt the smaller one. I brought home a very small, an inch, maybe an inch and 1/4 flame 3 weeks ago. Friday afternoon, I moved her into the display tank with Cecile. At the time I released the newbie, Cecile was hiding in the rocks and later, did not come out to eat. Saturday he was still illusive, and didn't eat, but Sunday he was moving around, and was even sitting next to the newbie. He did not appear to eat Sunday either. This morning (Monday) our beloved Cecile was dead.
Now, Friday morning was the first time in months that I did not feed the 'kids' their breakfast. I know Cecile ate Thursday nite. My husband did the Friday morning feed, but did not watch to make sure everyone ate. I do not know if Cecile was hidden in the rocks before I released the newbie or only started it after.
My LFS said if Cecile was more than 2 hours passed away, they could not do a necropsy. The crabs were on him when I found him, so I can't tell what marks were made pre -or post mortem.
Since I don't know if there was something wrong with Cecile before the new fish was introduced, I am trying to see if I can get an answer going at this backwards:
Is it POSSIBLE that a juvenile Flame Hawfish can attack and kill another flame 3x its size? They were sitting together peacefully most of the day Sunday. That being said, is there something I missed????
Rest in peace Cecile....
