Re: Spawning M.altispinosa!

["Helen Burns" <helen.burns@bigwig.net>]

Sarah,
In my experience I have never known Altis to harm one another in any
fashion.  Same sexes will display and threaten one another but never inflict
any damage.  Perhaps the thing to watch out for is when your pair do spawn
is that the spare Alti may try to sneak in and pinch the fry.
Helen
> My questions regarding this wonderful new turn of events are as
> follows:  to this point, the now-lonely third altispinosa hasn't been
> terribly harrassed.  I will keep a close eye on it to ensure it
> doesn't get killed once there are eggs/fry present, but does its
> presence as a "trigger" for the pair (a conspecific aggression
> target)  outweigh the risk of bodily harm?  Since this is a new pair
> and not yet well bonded, should I leave the third fish in the tank to
> encourage the pair to bond?  Or are altispinosa of the aggressive
> sort who will tear that third fish to shreds?  Additionally, I think
> this third fish may well be a second female.  Is this standard 20 gal
> large enough to house a second pair comfortably; conversely, do
> altispinosa exhibit harem spawning tendencies that might preclude the
> need to purchase a fourth fish?  Or is it simply better to remove the
> unpaired fish now to prevent egg/fry predation?  This unpaired third
> fish has also been attempting to "court" the male (hence the
> presumption it is female) and I am curious to see what might happen
> if she is left in the mix, but I'm afraid the tank is just not big
> enough to encompass the range of behavior this might elicit.
> Suggestions, as always, are very welcome.
> Thanks
> Sarah LeGates



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