bs6749
Aquarium Advice Addict
I started off with 8 GBR's in my 55 gallon tank (ordered 6, was given an extra pair) back in July of '06. I was lucky enough to have 4 pairs form and they were all spawning on a regular basis. Then very early one December morning I came home from work late to find that one of my male GBR's had passed away. I never did find out what was wrong with him but I would have to say that stress would be the likely cause of his passing. I didn't know what to do with the poor little female GBR that he was paired to. She was my favorite because of all the 4 females in the tank, she was the smallest but she had this spunky attitude and would usually challenge even the largest male GBR in the tank.
I felt bad for her because the territory that she used to claim was now being overtaken by the other three pairs in the tank. She was constantly being chased out of her own established territory and was constantly having to hide. So I decided to try and get her a new mate. I went to the lfs and after about a half an hour of watching a tank that had about 10 GBR's I picked out the dominant male. He was small as he was only about 4 months old (at most) and when I brought him home and put him in the tank she started to pick on him. She seemed to show no interest in him whatsoever.
About a month after picking up the new male at the LFS I had to move my tank and in doing so I had to take out everything and rearrange the setup. After reintroducing the fish, 5 separate GBR territories were staked out...three pairs each claimed one and the two "single" GBR's claimed their own. Then something weird happened. For some unknown reason, the alpha male in the tank paired with one of the former beta females and rejected his own mate. I don't know if he knew that she was getting sick or what but she did, and she still is 2 months or more later. The male of the beta female pair has not spawned in awhile, but now he seems to be paired with the tiny female that was widowed to begin with. I have heard that GBR's are very hard to get to pair again if their mate is lost, but it seems that it has happened in my tank. I guess I will find out in the next day or so as the newly formed "pair" is hanging out together and is cleaning a piece of driftwood. What I found interesting is that the male that has just paired with the tiny female gave up his territory in the tank and is occupying the same territory as the tiny female. She usually chases anything out of her space but she seems to be taking to the male.
This should be interesting as I have 3 pairs of GBR's all about to spawn at the same time (again). I guess I will have to make some room for the eggs in my 10 gallon tank which is currently housing 3 one month old GBR fry. I will keep you updated and let you know if a pair does form. I am really hoping for her that it does.
I felt bad for her because the territory that she used to claim was now being overtaken by the other three pairs in the tank. She was constantly being chased out of her own established territory and was constantly having to hide. So I decided to try and get her a new mate. I went to the lfs and after about a half an hour of watching a tank that had about 10 GBR's I picked out the dominant male. He was small as he was only about 4 months old (at most) and when I brought him home and put him in the tank she started to pick on him. She seemed to show no interest in him whatsoever.
About a month after picking up the new male at the LFS I had to move my tank and in doing so I had to take out everything and rearrange the setup. After reintroducing the fish, 5 separate GBR territories were staked out...three pairs each claimed one and the two "single" GBR's claimed their own. Then something weird happened. For some unknown reason, the alpha male in the tank paired with one of the former beta females and rejected his own mate. I don't know if he knew that she was getting sick or what but she did, and she still is 2 months or more later. The male of the beta female pair has not spawned in awhile, but now he seems to be paired with the tiny female that was widowed to begin with. I have heard that GBR's are very hard to get to pair again if their mate is lost, but it seems that it has happened in my tank. I guess I will find out in the next day or so as the newly formed "pair" is hanging out together and is cleaning a piece of driftwood. What I found interesting is that the male that has just paired with the tiny female gave up his territory in the tank and is occupying the same territory as the tiny female. She usually chases anything out of her space but she seems to be taking to the male.
This should be interesting as I have 3 pairs of GBR's all about to spawn at the same time (again). I guess I will have to make some room for the eggs in my 10 gallon tank which is currently housing 3 one month old GBR fry. I will keep you updated and let you know if a pair does form. I am really hoping for her that it does.
