Bonded pair fighting HELP ME PLEASE!! URGENT!!

by **Leetamus** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 2:21 am

I have a male synspillum and a hyrbrid which i have been told is a synspilum cross a black belt. about 2 weeks ago they bonded and had a batch of eggs.
over the weekend the eggs disappeared (possibly eaten by my pleco) which was ok by me.
but now the eggs are gone the male is attacking the female at any chance. she has a few places to get out of his way but is starting to look a bit battered. her fins are slightly ripped and has silver bite/attack marks on her body.

[u]Why would he have changed his attitude towards her?[/u]

he doesnt seem to attack her unless she swims away from him. he sometimes has a go at the much smaller purple flamed flowerhorn but he seems to be holding his ground. and has no visible damage

i have been told it could be due to him wanting to breed again?

could it be because she is the only female?

how can i fix the situation without removing any fish? is it possible??

Should i add another target fish?

i do have a small 1ft tank setup as a emergency tank and to house the "feeding fish" should i put her in this to recover and try and re-introduce her??
i dont know what to do??? i dont want to lose anybody....i have become quite attached!!
HELP ME PLEASE!!
any suggestion/advice is muchly appreciated!!

by **AquamanCA** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 3:01 am

Try putting the female in the other tank for now and give her time to recover and heal. Later get another female and introduce her and the original female into your main tank at the same time. Keep the lights off for a couple of days just in case. This could solve the problem but as is normal for the hobby, nothing is guaranteed.

Reading your post I can't help but think of some jokes that come to mind:
the male is a wife beater
she is not giving it up to him and he's horny
she swims away and he yells at her "I wear the fins in this house so don't you dare swim away from me bitch"

Sorry, couldn't help myself LOL

by **Leetamus** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 4:09 am

thanks for your reply and your jokes!! i have been thinking very similar things myself....

i have been thinking about moving her for some time now.... but i did add a few more places to get away and seems to enjoy hiding behind the two filters and he doesnt seem to be able to reach her and looses interest.

How can i ensure the other tank is suitable to put her in? should i get the water tested or just ensure the same ph level? i dont want to shock her too much...

i also have been doin a melafix treatment for the last 5 days (will be 7 in total) and her condition seems to have improved a lot.

do you have any suggestion on why he attacks her more then the other flowerhorn, who is aa male and much smaller? i thought having him as a target fish helped their bond?

i have uploaded a video to YOUTUBE so i can try and understand the behaviour. could you please click on the link below and tell me if this aggression is worth all the worry or they will get better once she decided to mate again?

here is the link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExFvAodyP-o

thanks again for your help!!

by **AquamanCA** » Sat Aug 28, 2010 5:19 pm

I finally got a chance to check out your video. That helped a lot. It definitely looks like a "courtship". They're mating. I see no aggressive behavior at all. So my earlier joke was actually not a joke LOL Get yourself another female and watch the fun begin.

Bonded pair fighting HELP ME PLEASE!! URGENT!!

4 posts