Male umbee tank mates

[Jonathann04769]

You nailed it. He


He will kill the rest. The one left alive (if any) will be his mate. Some males are just too aggressive to live with even females of their own species. There are probably some mellow exceptions to the rule too but I sure wouldn't bet on having one.

It's a harsh process. Umbees are ruthless. In the wild they can flee but in an aquarium there's nowhere to run. You may be able to rescue some of the unchosen before he kills them but you'd have to be very quick to remove them the second you saw him beating them up. More than likely you'll just find them floating.

The lucky lady (if any) will be allowed to live but she'll need a ton of hiding places that he can't get into, pick up and move, overturn or destroy. A divider with a few holes big enough for her but not for him is a great idea too. If he wants to breed but she's not ready to lay eggs she will need that protection. He may be nice to her most of the time but things can go sideways fast.

It pretty much sucks to be in a tank with a male Umbee. Unless, of course, you ARE the male Umbee. Then it's good to be king.
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That helps a lot. Thanks

 

[Jonathann04769]

Water makes a great tankmate... but not too big once they get over 60 ppm Nitrates they will pick on fish.
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I’m dying, that’s funny

 

[duanes]

Its an interesting thing, that if you want an interactive fish (wet pet) it is almost always best to keep it alone, without other fish. Other fish seem to bring out natural tendencies which ultimately exclude most human interaction (except maybe begging for food).
If you want an active entertaining community, to have both worlds, another tank with less predatory species might need to be your compromise.

 

[DonnyB]

Convicts - Seriously. If they breed before they get eaten you will have feeders, targets and dither fish. If they get eaten well... as much as I like them they are convicts and replaceable. With some driftwood and other hides they should be able to survive and well, I don't cry about lost convicts.

 

[Serpentine]

Convicts - Seriously. If they breed before they get eaten you will have feeders, targets and dither fish. If they get eaten well... as much as I like them they are convicts and replaceable. With some driftwood and other hides they should be able to survive and well, I don't cry about lost convicts.

The convicts might have something to say about this....

 

[DonnyB]

Nothing more natural than big cichilds keeping convict populations in check. Now doing so in a glass box....