- Messages
- 16
Hi All,
Problem:
Through what process do you determine when a pair is incompatible?
Background:
A few weeks ago on a shopping trip interstate where the quid pro quo was LFS's for shoe shops, I picked up a couple of A. Panduro . At one of the stores, there was a tank with only two left, and while not displaying any dimorphism one was larger than the other and the guy at the LFS assured me they were from the same order. With that, I was semi-confident I would have a male and female.
After getting them home and settled, it turns out the larger one was the female (4cm) and the smaller one the male (3cm). Finding clearly labelled images online was challenging, so I've attached pictures below in case anyone can confirm or deny for me.
With these two, the female appears to be the most aggressive of the two and will chase the male away. In most cases it's harmless chasing, in other cases it can be an aggressive nip. This afternoon, they locked lips (video attached during mirror therapy).
The tank is species only, 2ftx1ftx1ft with 3 caves (one driftwood, one rock and another a pot) all set up to face different directions. The driftwood has Anubias and Bolbitis growing 2/3 the tank height (to break line of sight between each side) as well as 2 Large Indian Almond Leaves as well as potted Crypts and S. Repens for additional blocks.
Observations:
- Aggression appears to be higher just after feeding
- The male will try and tempt the female by flashing and subsequently be chased
Attempted Solutions:
- I tried mirror therapy (only a couple of times) to see if a common threat might encourage them to get along. Haven't read as much up on Mirror Therapy yet to determine if it's something that takes time, so any links appreciated.
- I re-arranged the tank to break up any territory that the female may feel is her own.
Hypotheses:
Based on what I've read on other posts about behaviour.
- Forming a bond takes time, and mirror therapy has been too short.
- What I think is the male is actually a sub-dominant female
- Is it possible for there to be sneaker females in the same way there could be sneaker males.
- The male is too small to hold his own
- They are just an incompatible pair.
Options moving forward:
Based on my hypthoseses
- Continue Mirror Therapy for a couple more weeks and see if bond eventuates
- Introduce 1-2 more specimens to see if pairs naturally eventuate (also decreasing probability of sneaker female scenario)
- Remove male until he is larger and re-introduce
Would love to understand how everyone would approach this.
Here is some videos of behaviour. The one with them locking lips was during Mirror Therapy.
Chasing Behaviour:
Mirror therapy/Lip Lock:
Cheers,
Mitch
Problem:
Through what process do you determine when a pair is incompatible?
Background:
A few weeks ago on a shopping trip interstate where the quid pro quo was LFS's for shoe shops, I picked up a couple of A. Panduro . At one of the stores, there was a tank with only two left, and while not displaying any dimorphism one was larger than the other and the guy at the LFS assured me they were from the same order. With that, I was semi-confident I would have a male and female.
After getting them home and settled, it turns out the larger one was the female (4cm) and the smaller one the male (3cm). Finding clearly labelled images online was challenging, so I've attached pictures below in case anyone can confirm or deny for me.
With these two, the female appears to be the most aggressive of the two and will chase the male away. In most cases it's harmless chasing, in other cases it can be an aggressive nip. This afternoon, they locked lips (video attached during mirror therapy).
The tank is species only, 2ftx1ftx1ft with 3 caves (one driftwood, one rock and another a pot) all set up to face different directions. The driftwood has Anubias and Bolbitis growing 2/3 the tank height (to break line of sight between each side) as well as 2 Large Indian Almond Leaves as well as potted Crypts and S. Repens for additional blocks.
Observations:
- Aggression appears to be higher just after feeding
- The male will try and tempt the female by flashing and subsequently be chased
Attempted Solutions:
- I tried mirror therapy (only a couple of times) to see if a common threat might encourage them to get along. Haven't read as much up on Mirror Therapy yet to determine if it's something that takes time, so any links appreciated.
- I re-arranged the tank to break up any territory that the female may feel is her own.
Hypotheses:
Based on what I've read on other posts about behaviour.
- Forming a bond takes time, and mirror therapy has been too short.
- What I think is the male is actually a sub-dominant female
- Is it possible for there to be sneaker females in the same way there could be sneaker males.
- The male is too small to hold his own
- They are just an incompatible pair.
Options moving forward:
Based on my hypthoseses
- Continue Mirror Therapy for a couple more weeks and see if bond eventuates
- Introduce 1-2 more specimens to see if pairs naturally eventuate (also decreasing probability of sneaker female scenario)
- Remove male until he is larger and re-introduce
Would love to understand how everyone would approach this.
Here is some videos of behaviour. The one with them locking lips was during Mirror Therapy.
Chasing Behaviour:
Cheers,
Mitch