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 State of the Tank: (cont.) |
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But not too long ago Greg Schiemer told me if I ever found a Flame Hawk small enough, it would indeed pair up with the one I have. The problem was finding one small enough to do that. Well, the first week of the month I got a call from Greg informing me that my LFS just got in a trio of really tiny Flame Hawks. Not about to let one of the few examples of serendipity slip out my grasp, I had Ray bring one out sight unseen.
Because of its size and the fact that my refugium was still occupied by my Regal at that point, I simply acclimated, Formalin dipped, and introduced the little fellow to the big tank all the same day. It's taking a chance I know, but I doubt even the Fates would allow this kind of happenstance to come with disease attached. Anyway, once the little Hawk 'found' the larger one, it began to kind of follow it around from perch to perch...never getting really close but always within eyesight. The larger Hawk seemed to completely ignore it but was certainly aware it was there. In fact, it wasn't long before the larger Hawk would leave its perch the instant the smaller Hawk would try to join it. This behavior went on for the better part of the day; that is until the little Hawk finally STOPPED following the big guy around! Then it was the big ones' turn to saddle up, perching closer and closer as if to say, "Here I am. Come swim near me so I can ignore you some more....pleeeeese". |
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Because of this, I've concluded that the larger one is the male.
Now, a few days later, it seems that the two are always in the general vicinity of one another, kind of like the photo. Very cool to see. As a matter of fact, without the big one, it's doubtful I'd find the little Hawk in the tank at all.
I had wanted to put the 9 little Bartletts' and the Regal in at the same time. But it seems that after nearly a month in QT, the Anthias were starting to get a bit antsy. Maybe quarters were too close or maybe a couple of the males were beginning to develop but every so often there would be a little skirmish. No casualties, thank goodness, but it was getting obvious that I had to act quickly with these guys so one evening after the lights had gone out, I just transferred them and hoped for the best.
All seemed to go well. By morning, the older Anthias had 'herded' them all around a certain area but later on, a few rebels split off into their own little group and kept to themselves. The fish only average about an inch and a half apiece but they certainly give the tank a lot more movement. Looks a bit more 'natural' I guess though I'm still far from achieving the Discovery Channel look of The Atlantis Aquarium's big tank. |
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