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Unread 05/16/2009, 08:49 AM   #1
SDguy
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Question Pairing butterfly fish

I'd like to hear about experiences pairing butterfly fish. I've seen the occasional tinkers or semilarvatus pair for sale before, but never the less expensive, smaller species. Has anyone had experience pairing butterflies?

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Unread 05/16/2009, 10:25 AM   #2
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I've had a couple weeks worth of experience

I'm along for the ride on this one. I have 2 semilarvatus in a 55g QT right now. Both fish are around 3" in size. I let them hang together for a week but the alpha won't let the other one eat. I split the tank with an eggcrate tank divider. They are both eating now and check each other out through the eggcrate. They'll be in there for at least 5 more weeks, I'm hoping they'll get used to seeing each other and chill out.

If they never pair up, I'm hoping the 360g is going to give them enough space to steer clear of each other, at least until they get larger.


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Unread 05/16/2009, 03:20 PM   #3
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Peter - I have two Declivis that get along very well. When I added the second one, I made sure that he was well quarantined and eating like a pig. I added him into the main tank and he was bossed around for a bit by the bigger declivis but it subsided and they swim around together all the time.

The key is to get them conditioned and strong first (similar to angels) and then add them together.


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Unread 05/16/2009, 07:32 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally posted by ccampbell57
The key is to get them conditioned and strong first (similar to angels) and then add them together.
I totally agree...but is the rest of it just a crapshoot? Is "getting along" the same as a female/male pair? Do they change sex, or no?

In your case I'd say swimming around together must be more than just tolerating each other, ya?


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Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.
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Unread 05/16/2009, 07:46 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally posted by ccampbell57
.....I have two Declivis............
Lucky.......


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Unread 05/16/2009, 07:51 PM   #6
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DP


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Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.
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Unread 05/16/2009, 07:51 PM   #7
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I was gonna say "showoff" actually


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Unread 05/16/2009, 11:52 PM   #8
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when u dive here on the GBR, you will see copperbands in pairs everywhere, all the same, 1 large fish, 1 small....


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Unread 05/17/2009, 04:09 AM   #9
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I've always bought multiple BF's & let them pair off on their own..............they were in the 3-4" range.

I"ve done it with Semi's & Pakastani's.................they will pair for "life" if done this way.

If you are trying the less expensive species I'd go that route, but be prepared to have alternative homes if/when the others are bullied.

I would'nt bother trying two unless I already have one that's established & wanted to add a mate.

I'm not sure, but I don't think BF's change sex like clowns, anthias,wrasses.............so I don't think the size idea would matter or make sense. If I'm wrong then I guess the large & small(juvi) route would seem logical.

Another thing to consider is that BF species have different behavioral characteristics. Some are loners unless in breeding mode, others are always in pairs & yet another type are seen in groups. I'd research which type of behavior is expected & lean towards the grouping BF's.............they should be the easiest to pair.


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Unread 07/04/2009, 06:52 PM   #10
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So I'm trying my hand at this with a pair of common pearlscales. They were in the same cube at the store. In the acclimation bucket, they started posturing/not getting along. Does this already indicate they are the same sex, or no?


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Unread 07/04/2009, 08:16 PM   #11
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At the moment, I've got 2 Pakistani BFs and 2 Semilarvatus BFs in QT tanks. So far, they are getting along and don't stray too far from one another. The Pakistanis have been in QT for 6 weeks and the Semis for about 3 weeks. The Pakis are 3 and 3-1/4 inches. The Semis are 3-1/2 inches and 3 inches. I'm wondering if these are fish that just get along naturally or if they are male/female.


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Unread 07/04/2009, 08:44 PM   #12
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My semilarvatus are not exactly buddy buddy (still in QT together).

I would love to have a pair of collare too!


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Unread 07/05/2009, 02:18 AM   #13
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It doesn't sound like a good early sign Peter. You probably need more time to see how it goes. Are they juveniles?

LuvAngels,

Both these species group in the wild so its probably hard to know right now, especially because your BF's aren't mature yet.


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Unread 07/05/2009, 03:19 AM   #14
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it is difficult to pair butterflies as most of the time they are collected as pairs naturally. I have tried to pair tinkers with little success. Declives are a little easier.

almost all tinker Pairs you see were collected as pairs.


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Unread 07/05/2009, 04:19 AM   #15
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Thanks, Ed.


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Unread 07/05/2009, 09:57 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally posted by Big E
It doesn't sound like a good early sign Peter. You probably need more time to see how it goes. Are they juveniles?

Hmmm, promising.... they follow each other around in the 60g QT, no fighting. Maybe it was just a space idssue in the acclimation bucket. They are juveniles. 2-3" or so each. I'll try to snap some pics today.

Edit:



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Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

Last edited by SDguy; 07/05/2009 at 10:29 AM.
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Unread 07/11/2009, 06:04 AM   #17
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Nice looking pair.................any updates?


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Unread 07/11/2009, 10:06 AM   #18
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Thank you.

They swim around together, and don't fight, so at least they get along.


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Unread 07/11/2009, 10:38 AM   #19
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Sweeeet, good luck with them. Most people may not be impressed cause they are common, but I bet there are few to no one that has kept these & other so called easy BF's in pairs, grown to adults & living for 5-10 years. I'm mainly speaking of the common Indo varieties.

They are truely fish for experts & the ultimate challenge.


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Unread 07/11/2009, 10:47 AM   #20
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Thanks for the kind words. I know, I admit I'm kind of boring with my fish in the sense that I love the common ones. But they are beautiful to me nonetheless.

My current pride and joy (not to be paired, since they get so big)







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Unread 07/18/2009, 05:59 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally posted by SDguy
Thanks for the kind words. I know, I admit I'm kind of boring with my fish in the sense that I love the common ones. But they are beautiful to me nonetheless.

My current pride and joy (not to be paired, since they get so big)

Beautiful saddleback. How is pairing going with the others?


My semilarvatus are now in my display tank after spending 8 weeks together in QT. In the QT (55g) the slightly smaller fish wanted to buddy up w/ the larger who would instead go on the attack.

When I moved them into my DT I moved over the smaller b/fly and a couple of wrasses and left the larger more aggressive fish by itself in the QT. A few days later I moved it in w/ the others and he immediately paired up with the smaller fish. They are getting along good (so far). They are still young fish so I hesitate to call them a pair but they are together ~ 80% of the time right now, so maybe we can call them friends instead

I haven't spent much time trying to get a good picture so here is a quick snapshot...

2009-07_1843  640x800


I've got some corals in the QT again; when those are getting ready to come out I'm going to be looking for a Declivis to keep these guys company along with Naso Blonde and Desjardini tangs (one each). Having a single QT has been a good lesson in patience


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Unread 07/19/2009, 07:53 AM   #22
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Very nice fish there!

I unfortunately lost one of the pearlscales I came home to find it hiding in the rocks with what appeared to be a popped blood vessel in its eye. It didn't last the night.


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Unread 07/19/2009, 11:25 AM   #23
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Sorry to hear about your pearlscale.


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Unread 07/19/2009, 12:46 PM   #24
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Thanks. I guess it will make the pairing process more interesting....


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Peter

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Unread 07/19/2009, 10:22 PM   #25
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I had a trio of plebius juveniles together, but they eventually killed the third. So, now two. They are still young and haven't grown into the blue spot yet. They seem to be doing fine and eating everything, though.


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