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 State of the Tank: (cont.) |
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I didn't want to 'experiment' with a delicate or exotic breed and I wanted them to be good looking. My initial choice was Pictillis Anthias but they grew quite a bit larger than I'd liked. Besides, all the while I WAS considering them, they were nowhere to be found. Neither are the Olives, by the way, which is becoming increasingly frustrating since I really do need a few. And I wasn't about to put myself in that position again with the Pictillis should I ever want to shore up the shoal down the road. Now, while I wouldn't call Bimacs common, they do seem to come around every once in awhile so I thought they would be a safer bet in terms of availability. And they ARE good looking.
Those of you who read last month's update may recall that I recently added nearly a dozen new Bartletts. Most of them were half the size of the Bimacs so I didn't anticipate any trouble when I introduced them. I was wrong. The older Bartlett males didn't like these newbies at all and immediately chased the Bimac females into hiding. I was surprised, yes, but not too concerned about this behavior because I knew the Bimacs had been long conditioned to my water parameters, thus no added stress, and they had been eating heartily, thus they were strong enough to handle the amount of stress they WERE undergoing. Another observation I made immediately was that the Bartletts were NOT harassing the male Bimac. In fact, within 24 hours, the male Bimac was out swimming like a long established inhabitant, though he did
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seem to stay primarily on the right side of the tank. The females were still scattered about, mostly hiding behind the rockwork until feeding, when they would dart out, grab a piece of Mysis and quickly retreat lest one of the Bartletts would chase them back. No other fish seemed interested in the Bimacs except for an occasional short chase by the dominant Chromis.
Over the next couple days, I noticed that, one by one, the female Bimacs would migrate toward the male on 'his' side of the tank. Once there and protected deep in a Staghorn thicket, they at least remained visible for most of the day. And while there was a nipped tail here and there, they didn't appear to be in serious trouble from their rude welcoming. The male, meanwhile, began to be more protective of his harem as time went by, even going so far as to run off an overly inquisitive young male Bartlett who'd wander too far into his territory. I had been told that these Anthias would eventually become the dominant species in the tank and that the male in particular didn't take a lot of guff. This is exactly what appeared to be happening.
It was most fascinating though to watch as the two species continued to 'segregate' themselves to opposite sides of the tank. The right, and especially the upper right, seems to be the territory of the Bimacs while the left side of the tank is Bartlettville. More fascinating still are the exceptions to this rule. |
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