Firefish Battle

susiepan

susiepan

Member
Hey all,
Sorry I havent been on in ages, but fighting 2 ruptured disks in my low back, and cant sit for very long at the puter :(
But anyway, Flash and Pyro, my mated Firefish have been pecking the hell out of each other lately, they dont even live in the same hole anymore..They were purchased together and have been doing great since I've had them, and now its war of the roses..They are not fighting with any of the other fish, any ideas, or are they mating?
Thanks all in advance for your replys
~Susie <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />
 
carrie1429

carrie1429

Active Member
Hi Susie, sorry to hear about your back. I don't know too much but I think that is a sign of mating. When you say pecking are they actaully doing any damage to each other? I do know that when freshwater fish mate they kinda chase each other around and act as if beating each other up. Not sure if its the same as with saltwater fish.
 
susiepan

susiepan

Member
Carrie
Thanks about my back,
Saltwaterfish are pretty much about the same as far as mating signs (dances) with the shake/shimmy
The larger of the two is taking piece's out of the smaller ones dorsal..that is why I thought it might be mating..
The smaller of the two,(Flash) actually will float with its mouth open, and when Pyro gets near, NIP!!
I just dont want the situation to get bad, where they are really doing damage to each other..I'm glad these guys "lock in" for the nite so I know they are not biting each other badly while I'm in bed...Its possible they may be deciding their ---, or mating, but like I said, they have never been this way before, and I have had them almost a year..
~Susie
 
jakob4001

jakob4001

Member
that would be cool if they are just mating...I don't think anyone has gotten them to spawn before...please keep us as informed as you can at this point...hope ou back heals soon
 
carrie1429

carrie1429

Active Member
Originally posted by cmpowell:
<strong>I was wondering how you liked the firefish </strong><hr></blockquote>
I've had them beofre and I like them, they are a little bit shy but get a long good with other tank mates. IMO the purple firfish are prettier than the red but the red ones may be more hardy, never had any experience with the purple but I liked the red ones.
 
tankstolove

tankstolove

Member
They are probably fighting over the bolt hole. Each fish needs it's own bolt hole. That is the only reason I have ever concluded for fire fish disputes. biting of fins is not a sign of mating it's a sign of territory. Just add anothe bolt hole, they will quit the territory dispute.
Good keeping.
 
karlas

karlas

Member
what size is your tank? is there enough room for them to seperate? i have a pair of firefish almost a year and a half now also (reds). they are a pair and share the same bolt hole with no problems. they do however get in their moods where they pick at each other but never have taken chunks out. when they get like this they will take up at opposite ends of the tank and try not to go near each other. it usually last for a week or 2 then all of a suddent they are back together again. firefish are schoolers in the wild but in the aquarium its best if you have a single, a mated pair, or 6 or more. they have been known to fight and kill each other if 3-5 are in the tank. most of the time with that many you will end up with that 1 or 2 again. they can get along great one day then be fighting the next. before ya know it they are best friend again.
ours have mated once that i have known of and they acted pretty funny i thought one was sick. i had a shell they stayed under the male would sit outside and never saw the female except for feeding. she would come out and grab a piece of food then dissapear only when it floated in front of her. the male would chase the other fish if they got to close then go back. also the male would stick his tail underneath the shell and fan it then she would come out but not long. i think they put their nest down in the sand. when we upgraded to a bigger tank and was moving the sand we found a little guy darting back and forth in the bigger tank but couldnt catch him with all the lr. so i left him go hoping hed make it but ended up dissapearing. :(
do you have a qtank? maby take the one that is getting beat up on and put it in there for now just an idea
 
susiepan

susiepan

Member
Karlas,
thats exactly what they are doing...They are a mated pair, and they have always shared the same bolt hole...now the one is under the shells I have in the corner of the tank, and the other goes from the hole, to the shells...There are enough holes for them to be seperate, and there is enough room in my tank for them...Maybe cigars are in order :) we're going to be grandparents..yeah!!! ( jk, I know they wouldnt survive, especially with my filtration)
Cool, I will leave them alone and wait awile to see if they "Kiss" and make up, if not I will try to clear out the areas of the other holes, hoping one will take a new home...
You guys are great...Thanks again for all your help.. :rolleyes:
 
karlas

karlas

Member
cmpowell the firefish are nice looking fish that add great color to the tank also they are very hardy and i think have a somewhat natural tolerence against ick. they are a very shy fish and should not be put in with aggressive fish. a lot of people have them hide but with the right tank mates may show themselves more also if you manage to get a pair they come out a lot more.
susiepan i hope the aggression doesnt get to bad they should chill out after a little while. after thinking about it the one ff has lost part of the top fin a couple of times i never thought of the other ff taking it off when they were fighting but it may have been. it has grown back fine with no problems. i would love to have a pair of each kind but not a good idea to mix them all in the same tank did you ever see the helfrichis
 
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