Wooing male woe unto the female?

[Madkour]

I just put two female A. cacatuoides in my thirty gal with the male, and he's wasted no time in brushing up on the courtship skills. both females turn almost bright yellow when he approaches them, and are barely moving. they haven't even had time to stake out any territory. should i maybe pull them out and back into quarantine? they're just kind of hanging around him, so maybe they're ok.

I'm not sure, but they may not even be mature yet. they're 1 and 1.5'', so i guess it could be a close call.

 

[SixFootDaisy]

I've never seen fish dating, so I wouldn't know what to tell you. But it sounds interesting.

What color are the females normally? I wonder what makes them change color, do you know?

 

[Madkour]

Usually they're grey with a touch of black around the eye and down the lateral line. from what i've read they turn yellow when they've spawned or are about to, but i didn't think it was something that happened in a heart beat. when he isn't right in their faces strutting, they turn right back.

 

[SixFootDaisy]

Wow! That is very interesting.

I'm sorry I still can't help you out though.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

The only probelem I could see is that I have heard of immature fish becoming eggbound and dying. This fact was only in relation to comets, but I am sure it carries over to other species.

 

[Madkour]

Another problem i'm encountering is that i have all this shelter for them, and keep adding more and more, but the females aren't holding their ground. they let everyone else take over, and now my red tail shark has a coconut shell, a flower pot, and a big area of the driftwood centerpiece all to himself. will they eventually take some of it from him? i think i just need to let nature run its course.