Male honey dwarf has lost his mind

[mattbeau]

Ok after a botched plan of mixing my community with a puffer (who has now been removed)

my honey dwarf male has become agressive against everyone in the tank he's attacking everyone, no matter where they are or what they are doing .

currently the temp is about 81

would lowering the temp take him out of breeding mode and chill him out a little?

 

[GuppyDude]

lowering the temp will help as long as it wont hurt anything else in the tank, could also try remoeving him and re-introduceing him to the tank if he doesn't settle down. i cant imagine what would set him off, i dont think a puffer would have done it...

 

[sylvia]

None of the other inhabitants (it's the 20 gallon in your sig. right?) would have a problem with lowering the temp. Besides the fact that fish start becoming hyperactive as temperature increases (as they are cold blooded), at around 78 deg F honey gouramies start going into breeding mode. I'm guessing your male has recently reached sexual maturity and, particularly as there is a female present, is starting to think about spawning. As long as he isn't chasing her too much, you shouldn't have any serious trouble. I'd increase the water flow besides lowering the temperature in order to discourage him from trying to build a bubblenest. That should pretty much solve the problem though I'd also add some more hiding places. Also, watch closely in case you have a particularly aggressive individual. With only one female, she's likely to get very stressed without retreats. You may want to re-arange the tank as well if he isn't settling down and maybe consider moving him out for a while and adding a couple more females in his absence.

As for the puffer. I don't know what kind you were considering but be warned that they are not community fish and all will shred fins and those large enough will also shred fish.

 

[mattbeau]

Thanks Sylviaa,


It is the 20G,

As well as he did do in the community tank, I think it was in the best interest of all the other fish to have the DP back in his own tank, especially after seeing SirMinions pic


I was actually trying to get them to breed. he just got out of hand
maybe i'll try again in a few weeks
I did lower the temp back down to 80, he has since lost his black markings(around the throat and lower fins) and has chilled out a bit

funny though, the femal now keeps bugging him, "fealing him up", well she does that to everyone, but more so to him, and now her breeding markings (prominant single stripe accross the side) are starting to show lol

O/T I added a new coryadoras and while he/she? was still in the bag, she approached him/her and was fealng up the bag where he/she was, so adorable.

 

[sylvia]

If you're actualy trying to breed them you should set up a seperate breeding tank. A bare 10 gallon with a heater, small sponge filter, tight-fitting hood with a simple light would do. A couple of floating plants (either live or otherwise) and a small ceramic pot are also beneficial. Then raise the temp again, turn off the filter (let it run in an established tank for a couple of days beforehand so you can get an instant cycle), lower the water level if necesary, add the female, a little while later add the male and then leave them to it. They sound like they're already in breeding condition so feeding etc shouldn't be an issue. As soon as they've spawned, take out the ceramic pot and the female. Stop feeding the male for the next couple of days while he guards the nest and then the fry. Then take him out once the fry are free swimming. At this stage start feeding infusoria (start cultures of infusoria and microworms beforehand) and turn on the filter. Try microworms as well but most fry are still too small to eat them. Do water changes (syphon into a white bucket so you can see the fry and return them to the tank) regularly but take care to have the fresh water you're adding to the tank at the same temp or the fry can easily die of shock. It's often beneficial to have lowered the water level - not just to make the bubblenest easier to build and the eggs/fry easier to keep in the nest - but also to ensure the fry, once eating, can find food more easily. After a few days, slowly raising the water level will be necessary if you want to keep water quality good and still feed the rapidly growing fry adequately.

Breeding the fry in a typical community setting won't work. The fry will get eaten by parents and tankmates, will get sucked up and killed by the filter and will not be able to easily find food. Unless you've already considered these things and resolved them, the above method of using a seperate breeding tank is much more likely to be successful and would also mean you don't need to concern yourself with the males aggression as he'll only be with the female and only for as long as it takes for them to spawn.

 

[mattbeau]

Holy crap Sylia


THANK YOU.

(CTRL P)

thats alot, I thought i could .....wing it.....

It would be good breed as I rarely see them around anymore in the LFS'

I'm not sure If I'm up to starting a whole new tank for a while unless I find a real good deal on a 40-50 Gallon setup, at which time I would be doing the fish shuffle.

so I guess for now I'll keep the temp down a little

though I will be keeping the custom water calmer fake floating plant thingy in the corner as it seems the male still like the spot and keeps the fish active.