Are you shure the male isn't stressing her? I would think she should be looking a litthe better by now.
She is a little better, but not significantly better. Very slow healing process.
When my Bleekeri was injured (a year before the Tarantsy's arrival) it took her 2 months to recover fully in an isolation tank. But the Bleekeri doesn't have a mate/pair bond.
Anything is possible with this pair. Its hard to say since there are so many variables. Their tank is in a quiet areawhere they're very, very frequently observed, up close and from a distance. However, who knows what happens when no one is watching.
The pics were taken in subdued lighting, so its tough to see their actual colors in a pic. Looking at the male in daylight I see signs of spawning color, but not an enlarged breeding tube. The female doesn't have spawning color or an enlarged breeding tube. He's trying to attract her attention with pre spawning rituals, she's not interested and swims away. Their spawning rock isn't in the tank and they won't spawn without one. I'm hoping she doesn't become interested in this condition, since it would probably weaken her to the point of no return. Perhaps she's stressed because she can't spawn.....
I've never seen them fighting beyond mild chasing. No biting, no charging, no fin nipping. For Malagasies, they're very peaceful fish. He actually puts food into her mouth.
I've mentioned in prior posts that I removed a pair of cyrtocara moorii from this tank. I took them out over a month ago because it looked like the moorii were about to spawn. The male dolphin tried harassing my female tarantsy. Then the male tarantsy got involved to protect her. In retrospect, its possible she was injured at that time and it didn't become apparent until recently.
In speaking with other Malagasy keepers, breeding females often show a decline in health post spawning, sometimes decline to the point of their demise. That's what I'm afraid of at this point.
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