Tropical Fish Hobbyist - December 2007

Can I ever get them back together again? I enjoyed seeing the parental care, and now some friends want fish like them.

Cameron Dickens

Utica, New York

A

The only way to get them together is to put the male back into the female’s tank. Make sure that there is plenty of

rockwork for her to hide among. In nature,

"Our owner just doesn't understand the concept of compatible tankmates!"

the pairs of these species don’t stay together after the fry have been raised and dispersed, so it is the unnatural confines of the tank that cause the problem. If both members of the pair are in a spawning mood, they should raise young again. Actually, males are easy in that respect, so it is the female that needs to be ready to spawn. The male will probably be a little subdued from the transfer, and that will give the female a chance to arouse the courting instinct in him. But be prepared to separate them again once the young are raised.

Members of the species Herichthys cyanoguttatus, most commonly referred to as Texas cichlids, do make good pets when kept by themselves, as they are ravenous and intelligent. That combination makes for good aquatic pets.

Q

Territorial Pleco

I am 13 and very enthusiastic about the hobby and love it a lot. I have a 20-gallon high with five neon tetras Paracheirodon innesi, five rosy tetras Hyphessobrycon bentosi, a balloon molly (I don’t know the scientific name), three albino cories Corydoras aeneus, and, finally, one clown pleco Panaque maccus. My tank has been like this for about five months. I am worried that my pleco will become too territorial once full grown. Will it? And if so what should I do?

Aidan Cox via email

A

Well, we’re impressed with all the knowledge you have at such a young age. Just in case you don’t know, we should point out that your pleco is quite herbivorous (plant and algae consuming), and it requires some wood in its diet, such as from the driftwood you can get at your local fish store.

Your pleco might become territorial toward other pleco species, but it shouldn’t bother any of the fish that you have. The only possible conflict would be with the cories, and that is very unlikely. If it does happen, though, it would happen at night, so you might keep an eye open for activity after the lights are turned out. But I still think it is very unlikely that there will be any conflict.