Hi all,
It's been ages since I've been on here. I hope everyone's bsjf are thriving!!!
Below is a few questions, and then a play by play account of the behavior of my 2 bsjf.
few questions for people who have a pair of BSJF:
I'm curious how your pair behave together. Do they get along all the time? How often does the male display his mating colors? Do they flare their jaws at each other or do they snuggle? Do males typically spend more time closer to their den than females? do they frequently share the same den?
I have had a male (Mr. T) for 6 mo. or so, and have been on the lookout for a female...well, this week, I think I found one. I added her to the tank on Wed. and made a little burrow for her on the other side of the tank from Mr T's home. I monitored them closely to make sure she wasn't a he. After 4 days, I'm 99% sure it is a she. I base this on having tried pairing bsjf in the past, and the males have gone at each other locking jaws almost immediately, requiring me to pull one and put it in another tank.
So, I wanted to share their behavior and see if anyone who has a pair have noticed anything similar.
First, Mr. T is a big bsjf, and has a great house of 7-10 inches of rubble in the middle of my tank. No other fish in the tank (besides the new girl bsjf) to bother him, yet he rarely swims around. He isn't shy, I have trained him to eat out of my hand. However, the female i just got, who is much smaller than Mr T, has made 2 homes, and loves to be out. Swims from house to house.
Next, the 2nd day she was in the tank Mr. T saw her, flared real big, she flared back, then after a 20 min staredown, Mr T closed his front door and stayed inside his burrow the rest of the day. She went about her business. The 3rd day, Mr. T cautiously came out and very wearily ate....but he was displaying the mating colors. (top half bright white, bottom half black as night) She was hiding in the back and peaking over corals to see him, while Mr. T would aggressively swim to to the top of the tank, kind of pulsing, and hover at the top of the tank showing off his white/black color. After flashing to the top 4-5 times, he went in his home, and closed the door for the rest of the day. Which is very different from his normal routing, which is being out until I turn the lights off, then he pulls a rock over the entrance, and goes to sleep for the night.
Today, I woke, and she had made more tunnels to her home, with one about 4 inches form his. When I fed them, she traveled from the back door, under the rock and up to the front door next to his door....and Mr. T started flaring his jaw (still all white/black) She flared back. But not with the intensity or vigor that he did. Mr T then started picking up rocks and hurling them over by her. She gracefully dodged, made some quip about how he threw like a girl, and then headed back to her back door. (which he can't see her from)
Currently, he's still (white/black) occasionally flashing to the top of the tank, and she's chilling in her home in the back of the tank.
I've heard from my lfs owner who has a pair, that the female beats up on the male unless they are mating, and then they share a burrow for about a day, then she goes back to slapping him around.
Sorry this was so long. I hope it was a little insightful/entertaining and thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer my questions or share the interacting behavior of their pair.
Kelly
It's been ages since I've been on here. I hope everyone's bsjf are thriving!!!
Below is a few questions, and then a play by play account of the behavior of my 2 bsjf.
few questions for people who have a pair of BSJF:
I'm curious how your pair behave together. Do they get along all the time? How often does the male display his mating colors? Do they flare their jaws at each other or do they snuggle? Do males typically spend more time closer to their den than females? do they frequently share the same den?
I have had a male (Mr. T) for 6 mo. or so, and have been on the lookout for a female...well, this week, I think I found one. I added her to the tank on Wed. and made a little burrow for her on the other side of the tank from Mr T's home. I monitored them closely to make sure she wasn't a he. After 4 days, I'm 99% sure it is a she. I base this on having tried pairing bsjf in the past, and the males have gone at each other locking jaws almost immediately, requiring me to pull one and put it in another tank.
So, I wanted to share their behavior and see if anyone who has a pair have noticed anything similar.
First, Mr. T is a big bsjf, and has a great house of 7-10 inches of rubble in the middle of my tank. No other fish in the tank (besides the new girl bsjf) to bother him, yet he rarely swims around. He isn't shy, I have trained him to eat out of my hand. However, the female i just got, who is much smaller than Mr T, has made 2 homes, and loves to be out. Swims from house to house.
Next, the 2nd day she was in the tank Mr. T saw her, flared real big, she flared back, then after a 20 min staredown, Mr T closed his front door and stayed inside his burrow the rest of the day. She went about her business. The 3rd day, Mr. T cautiously came out and very wearily ate....but he was displaying the mating colors. (top half bright white, bottom half black as night) She was hiding in the back and peaking over corals to see him, while Mr. T would aggressively swim to to the top of the tank, kind of pulsing, and hover at the top of the tank showing off his white/black color. After flashing to the top 4-5 times, he went in his home, and closed the door for the rest of the day. Which is very different from his normal routing, which is being out until I turn the lights off, then he pulls a rock over the entrance, and goes to sleep for the night.
Today, I woke, and she had made more tunnels to her home, with one about 4 inches form his. When I fed them, she traveled from the back door, under the rock and up to the front door next to his door....and Mr. T started flaring his jaw (still all white/black) She flared back. But not with the intensity or vigor that he did. Mr T then started picking up rocks and hurling them over by her. She gracefully dodged, made some quip about how he threw like a girl, and then headed back to her back door. (which he can't see her from)
Currently, he's still (white/black) occasionally flashing to the top of the tank, and she's chilling in her home in the back of the tank.
I've heard from my lfs owner who has a pair, that the female beats up on the male unless they are mating, and then they share a burrow for about a day, then she goes back to slapping him around.
Sorry this was so long. I hope it was a little insightful/entertaining and thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer my questions or share the interacting behavior of their pair.
Kelly
