bangaii aggresion

[Tennyson]

I had already posted a thread on this, but it disapeared. The "runt of the litter" has died sadly, so I have three left. There is just one that is constantly bullying all the others, even though its smaller than them. Does this mean that they are all males and hes being aggresive because males are aggresive towards eachother? Or is there not enough room in the tank (46 gal, but I plan to return the one that isn't part of a mated pair)

I also see this strange behavior when both bangaii's pouches for holding eggs puffs out and they stay near eachother with their pouches out for a couple seconds. It only happens occasionally, and I've seen all of them do it. Is this mating behavior? Or are they seeing which is dominant?

I also read that it takes them three weeks to pair off, is this true too? And I'm not sure if they are sexually mature, they are about 1 1/2 inches long.

Thanks.

[Ninong]

I have no experience with Banggai cardinalfishes but Dr. Frank Marini has written extensively on this species and you might find these links helpful:

FAQ on Banggai Cardinals (http://www.reefs.org/library/article/f_marini.html) by Frank Marini

Raising and Breeding the Banggai Cardinalfish (http://www.breedersregistry.org/Articles/v4_i4_marini/marini.htm) by Frank Marini