Need some *fish* help

tx29fan

tx29fan

Member
I have had my reef going for a couple of years and I am pretty comfortable with how it is doing...I have been selecting a few fish to go in my reef system. I have a 6 line wrasse, a percula clown,a foxface, a royal gramma, and yellowtail blue damsel that have been in the tank for some time and doing well. About 4 months ago (after much reading) I added a Male zebra angel and he too is doing well in the tank. I have been reading and made the choice to get the female zebra angel to finish out my fish and after reading they do well together I purchased one this past weekend. Here is the problem...the male chases the female back behind the rocks in the tank everytime she comes out! I make sure to feed where she is hiding and stand quietly to make sure that she is. Will this attitude change over time? or do I need to remove one of them from the tank? tank is 6'x18"x29" 150 gal.
 
Cougra

Cougra

Well-Known Member
It's hard to say, it may get better and it may get worse. Fish aren't really predictable in their behaviour. Generally the best thing to do when adding a new fish to an estabilished system is to change the aquascaping around and disrupt everyones territory. I know this is hard and annoying to do in a reef tank but it does work most of the time when species are considered compatible.

A couple options you may want to consider is to wait it out and keep a good eye on the new angel to see if she is settling in and not loosing weight.

If she can't get enough food you may want to consider removing the original one you had from the tank for a couple weeks and let her get her barings then reintroduce him to the tank.

If that doesn't work you may need to take one back to the store.
 
C

cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
Here's some info I dug up that may help:

The Genus Genicanthus

Swallowtails do not form harems, small schools, or even large schools. They are rather non-territorial to conspecifics, yet remain within a given territory of their own. The largest males exert their dominance over smaller males and are kings of their domain, but do not entirely drive off smaller males. They will remain nearby, often with an overlapping territory. The main difference in dominance is in their mating habits. Larger males have the opportunity to mate more frequently than smaller males. Females rarely exert aggression nor do they defend a territory. Instead, they move throughout the large grouping of Swallowtails.
Click to expand...

Since he has an established territory he just may not want to share it. Michelle's suggestion of removing the Male may be the best option if he continues to be aggressive.
 
S

SueT

Active Member
I've recently gotten into the genicanthus angels. I picked up a wonderful female semifasciatus. After seeing what the male looks like I immediately wanted to find one. Now after reading this I am not going to do that. I tried to add a female bellus and she did not make it, not due to the female semi. thou.

I researched the addition of more than 1 genicanthus spp. to a tank and found someone I couldn't track down that had 4 in his 120g. Three different species and one pair. The grouping consisted of a bellus, semifasciatus, and a pair of wantanbi's.
 
tx29fan

tx29fan

Member
The female is starting to come out more..and looks like she may be standing her ground a bit better. I will watch them for a bit and if the males agression does not subside I will move him to my 60 for a bit. much thanks Cougra, Wit, Cheeks and Sue !!!
 
S

SueT

Active Member
Thats great news to hear!! I always hate adding fish cause of things like this happening. Sounds like the female may be wanting to see whats going on.

These fish are so rare in the hobby and I think they are all so beautiful.
 
Cougra

Cougra

Well-Known Member
I'm glad to hear that she is coming out more. I hope that you get lucky and don't have to attempt to catch a fish in your reef anytime soon!
 
Newt

Newt

Active Member
Glad all is going well,

Let me know how you like your female Swallowtail Angel, I am planning on adding one to my tank in the near future. Post some pics if you can! :turntable

Here's a reefer from another forum in which I belong keeping some different types of Genis in his tank, click here

JKreef
 
tx29fan

tx29fan

Member
she was out last night long enough for me to get a couple of pictures. here is the best (still not great)
 

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Tarasco

Tarasco

Active Member
I'd heard before that males aren't always happy with newcomer females. One suggestion I saw, but haven't tried, is to add more than one female. This would (hopefully) spread the aggression of the male around a little bit. But if your female appears to be getting out and about, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
S

SueT

Active Member
tx29fan, that is a super nice looking male. I had never noticed these fish locally before and got talked into my female by an employee at my LFS. This female was 1 of 6 they got in and she was the last to go as they had had her for 6 weeks. I can't believe no one wanted her. She has such a personality.

Jay, thanks for the link, now I'm wanting more of the genicanthus angels. How cool a fish are they.... :smoking:

Mine wasn't that much $$$$$. She was the msot I have ever paid for a fish though...
 
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