I've had a male p. polleni (small spot) for 6 months or so and I got a female just shy of 2 months ago.
I kept the female in her own tank for 3 weeks (quarantine & protein load). I then placed her in a 180gal w/ the male and assorted others (mating venustus, ps. crabro, convicts, silver dollar). I watched then for a while, took a few photos and had dinner watched so tv and checked the fish again.
The female looked very beat up...back to the 29 gal she went. 2 weeks later I put a divider up in the quarantine tank and the male went in. Both flare and attacked each other through the egg crate divider on the first day. Well two days ago, during water change I removed the divider the two ignored each other for about 1 hr then the male started attacking the female. the female attacked back , severe lip locks later the male stopped hitting the female he just kept her above him and she looked like she was trying to ignore him.
She was staying perpedicular to the male (showing him her side?) and angled up a bit. She stopped lip locking and just kept avoiding I didn't have time to monitor the two so the divider went back in.
I think I'll remove the divider over thanksgiving (when I can monitor them more closely for extended period of time), but wanted input from anyone with experience working to "establish" polleni breeders.
I should put them both in a larger tank (180gal or 125gal) but I'll have to move some others around before I do that-so the 29 gal is really being used to get the two "use to each other". With a faint hope the female will decide to lay eggs close to the grate and the male could fertilize them w/o having access to the female
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j114/Carg23/polleni%20small%20spot/pollmandf102806.jpg?t=1164049816
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j114/Carg23/polleni%20small%20spot/pollmandf1028062.jpg?t=1164049905
I kept the female in her own tank for 3 weeks (quarantine & protein load). I then placed her in a 180gal w/ the male and assorted others (mating venustus, ps. crabro, convicts, silver dollar). I watched then for a while, took a few photos and had dinner watched so tv and checked the fish again.
The female looked very beat up...back to the 29 gal she went. 2 weeks later I put a divider up in the quarantine tank and the male went in. Both flare and attacked each other through the egg crate divider on the first day. Well two days ago, during water change I removed the divider the two ignored each other for about 1 hr then the male started attacking the female. the female attacked back , severe lip locks later the male stopped hitting the female he just kept her above him and she looked like she was trying to ignore him.
She was staying perpedicular to the male (showing him her side?) and angled up a bit. She stopped lip locking and just kept avoiding I didn't have time to monitor the two so the divider went back in.
I think I'll remove the divider over thanksgiving (when I can monitor them more closely for extended period of time), but wanted input from anyone with experience working to "establish" polleni breeders.
I should put them both in a larger tank (180gal or 125gal) but I'll have to move some others around before I do that-so the 29 gal is really being used to get the two "use to each other". With a faint hope the female will decide to lay eggs close to the grate and the male could fertilize them w/o having access to the female
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j114/Carg23/polleni%20small%20spot/pollmandf102806.jpg?t=1164049816
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j114/Carg23/polleni%20small%20spot/pollmandf1028062.jpg?t=1164049905