Male Festae digging question

[CrazyLegz]

So I have a 40 gallon breeder with a bunch of fish in it but wasnt going to be long term...I have 4 festaes 2 male and 2 females 2 cubans male and female 2 gold jds male and female a dovii and a jaguar...my festae males are about 4.5 inch and the females are 3 to 3.5 inchs everything else is between 1.5 and 2.5 inchs...I did a water change today and moved a couple things around and saw a dugged up pit after looking for awhile longer I see the dominant male festae coming and going moving rocks and chasing whoever comes near the pit...my question is can he be digging without being paired up cause I havent seen him swim with any females yet and also should I leave the other fish in there or take them out?? I feed them earthworm and spiralina zoomeds flakes and frozen spiralina brine shrimp n frozen bloodworms...pics coming soon charging my phone now

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[vinod_uthaiah]

My first thought your tank is loaded with fishes. Way off the scale for a 40 gallon.
The fishes in the tank are very aggressive ones....
Answering your question...the male festae and its digging could be setting up a territory and also a pecking order.
The best bet here would be to remove all the other fishes except for the festae .This would save your other fishes.
Keep a look out on these 4 and check to see if he pairs up with any of the females.
Once paired , you will have to move out the other 2 festaes too.

 

[doomiedee]

My first thought your tank is loaded with fishes. Way off the scale for a 40 gallon.
The fishes in the tank are very aggressive ones....
Answering your question...the male festae and its digging could be setting up a territory and also a pecking order.
The best bet here would be to remove all the other fishes except for the festae .This would save your other fishes.
Keep a look out on these 4 and check to see if he pairs up with any of the females.
Once paired , you will have to move out the other 2 festaes too.

This.


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[Azedenkae]

At the moment your fish can do for a 40g, due to their small size, but as they continue to grow you'll need to remove more and more of them. Some of your fish, the Jag for example, will definitely not work in a 40g.

As for your question, yes they can dig pits without having paired up. If you really want to, you should remove all fish besides the Festae, and then when a pair forms, remove the rest - but make sure tothen add dither fish or else your fish may suddenly start hiding all the time.

 

[fish042099]

So I have a 40 gallon breeder
4 festae- 2 male(4.5") and 2 females(3-3.5")
2 cubans- 1 male(1.5-2.5") and 1 female(1.5"-2.5")
2 gold jds- 1 male(1.5-2.5") and 1 female(1.5-2.5")
1 dovii unkown sex(1.5-2.5")
1 jaguar unknown sex(1.5-2.5")
I did a water change today and moved a couple things around and saw a dugged up pit after looking for awhile longer I see the dominant male festae coming and going moving rocks and chasing whoever comes near the pit...my question is can he be digging without being paired up cause I havent seen him swim with any females yet and also should I leave the other fish in there or take them out?? I feed them earthworm and spiralina zoomeds flakes and frozen spiralina brine shrimp n frozen bloodworms...pics coming soon charging my phone now

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Organized your tank setup a bit there, now on to the response. That tank is barely enough for a gold JD, let alone all the fish in there. A dovii can grow up to be most of the length of a 40 gallon breeder, and that with all the mess of fish in there is a train wreck in the making, even now wight their small sizes and no aggression they are still overstocked. Take these steps:
1. Choose which fish or fishes you want to keep
2. Sell all the other fish.
3. Grow them out until they outgrow the tank.
4. Have on hand a tank ready for their adult size.
For example......
If you want to keep the jaguar
1. Skip step
2. Sell other fish
3. Grow out until 6-7"
4. Have on hand a 150-240 gallon for him

 

[CrazyLegz]

I totally understand my tank is overcrowded and that none of them will be able to stay in this tank long term...it is going to be a festae fry tank when and if they breed...the other fish I will use to cycle the new tank I will be getting that will be big enough for a festae pair...since this post the dominant male has stopped digging...the other fish were just to keep the bioload up to par

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