Yesterday, in the middle of dinner, I caught my male, who I was getting ready to name Elton John,doing this:
[YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_7OSzcdQt8[/YT]
What a curveball. She was all over the glass after and sperm plug was definitely in there, 100%. The corny music was put in there to hide my profanity and yelling at the top of my lungs. Didn't think hed ever get to it, I've seen him bite before, but I never saw any chasing or movement up through the water column. She gave in pretty easy it seems. A bit mopey right now but eating well, he didn't beat her up too bad, worst is below her eye when he latched onto the opening where the gill is. He's separated because he wouldn't leave her alone after, and I think my other female may be a tiny bit too small.
This is sort of bittersweet because April 10th I was set to move these guys to a 200 temporarily and take down my 400 to redo my seams because they are questionable. Moving the tank one my my friends put a crack in the top brace, plus I didn't manage to get it 100% level, so there has been some noticable wear in the 4 months since I've been here. Now I'm torn, do I move them asap to the 200 and continue with my plans to try to get her back in there quick? It's a bowfront with dual overflow boxes in the corners, so while she is in there she won't be happy. System runs well, but for space wise, and if the male continues to attack her like he was, that will not be a stress free 2-3 weeks. I am leaning towards hoping the seams last another 4 months and having the 200 ready on standby just in case. I will take some pics of the seams and ask some experts. I'm hopeful that they will last and I can move them into the 200 right away after that, get the job done (before theshelf life of my weld-on#40 expires), and hopefully start pumping out some more puppies!
Any first advice for a first timer is welcome. I know I'll be ordering black worms closer to the time, some sort of rubbermaid holding tank will need to be constructed for the first little bit I imagine, and then I'll move em to a small tank with the FX5 that I have running on the sump of this tank and their old water. Gonna be a grandpa, WOOHOO!
[YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_7OSzcdQt8[/YT]
What a curveball. She was all over the glass after and sperm plug was definitely in there, 100%. The corny music was put in there to hide my profanity and yelling at the top of my lungs. Didn't think hed ever get to it, I've seen him bite before, but I never saw any chasing or movement up through the water column. She gave in pretty easy it seems. A bit mopey right now but eating well, he didn't beat her up too bad, worst is below her eye when he latched onto the opening where the gill is. He's separated because he wouldn't leave her alone after, and I think my other female may be a tiny bit too small.
This is sort of bittersweet because April 10th I was set to move these guys to a 200 temporarily and take down my 400 to redo my seams because they are questionable. Moving the tank one my my friends put a crack in the top brace, plus I didn't manage to get it 100% level, so there has been some noticable wear in the 4 months since I've been here. Now I'm torn, do I move them asap to the 200 and continue with my plans to try to get her back in there quick? It's a bowfront with dual overflow boxes in the corners, so while she is in there she won't be happy. System runs well, but for space wise, and if the male continues to attack her like he was, that will not be a stress free 2-3 weeks. I am leaning towards hoping the seams last another 4 months and having the 200 ready on standby just in case. I will take some pics of the seams and ask some experts. I'm hopeful that they will last and I can move them into the 200 right away after that, get the job done (before theshelf life of my weld-on#40 expires), and hopefully start pumping out some more puppies!
Any first advice for a first timer is welcome. I know I'll be ordering black worms closer to the time, some sort of rubbermaid holding tank will need to be constructed for the first little bit I imagine, and then I'll move em to a small tank with the FX5 that I have running on the sump of this tank and their old water. Gonna be a grandpa, WOOHOO!