# pairing up



## Addesyn (Jul 1, 2009)

I have two orange estherae that seem to have paired up. Im thinking that one is female (rounded, smaller pec fins) and the other is male (it does the shimmy dance for the other one and has long pointy pec fins). is this a good assumption? Im just not sure why they havent had babies yet. I know I have my tank set up right for breeding because my Maingano is (STILL) holding.
This is the one I believe to be male. I know the pic isn't very helpful but it's a pretty fish and I am posting it anyway


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

It is a pretty fish, great color.

As for breeding, Mbuna are harem breeders meaning that there is one male to numerous females. The one doin the shake is the male, and based on the pic I'd say he is a male.

Depending on their age, it could be a little while before they actually breed, but it'll happen eventually. There are tricks to get them to breed though, like rearranging the tank decorations or doing a large water change after not doing one for a while.

Hope that helps.


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## Addesyn (Jul 1, 2009)

Thankyou he is very nice and I plan on re-doing the stocking in my tank (so I have less variety but maybe 3 harems of my favorite types)


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

Addesyn said:


> Thankyou he is very nice and I plan on re-doing the stocking in my tank (so I have less variety but maybe 3 harems of my favorite types)


this is a good idea :thumb: u will be much happier with the way ure tank will progress down the road


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## Addesyn (Jul 1, 2009)

Im thinking trade the Auratus (male, I expect he will be a pain when he fully matures, he is changing colors to brown right now) get more Mainganos.. (my female is holding hybrids.. I wouldn't sell them but what do do.. I won't kill them on purpose) put my 1 long finned gold daino, 2 white clouds, 4 tiger barbs, & 2 platys in the 10g ... yup thats as far as I have gotten in my plans  I have one of a lot of different kinds except the 2 estherae... can't really choose between them cuz they are all so pretty but I know Maingano are one of my favs.


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

there are plenty of great looking fish out there just keep your eye open :thumb:


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## Addesyn (Jul 1, 2009)

I just with a had a decent LFS around here.. I have Petco  but I mostly just get supplies from there. I wish they trained their employees better. I went in there the other day talking about Mainganos and holding and stripping and the lady in charge of the fish just looked at me like I was crazy :lol:


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

lol :lol:


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## SiNFuLWaYs (May 18, 2009)

def recommend getting rid of any auratus considering i have some they are a pain eye biters an very dominant.


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

The OP already mentioned doing this


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## SiNFuLWaYs (May 18, 2009)

Oh sorry yea i was just trying to throw my opinion in from experience they are great fish but to a degree. well goodlouck nice fish.


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

sinful agreed with the auratus comment.. i just put my male in my pond.. kept the female.... uh. your avatar is ... uh.. well ... ah **** rock them abs


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## Addesyn (Jul 1, 2009)

hmm.. my thread has been taken over by abs lol..

My Auratus has not been any trouble so far but he is in the middle of his color change (and rather ugly now :lol: ) but I think once he is done he might be a meanie. Either way he does not fit in with my plans so I will be re-homing him soon. I think I will stick with a blue and orange theme. Orange Estherae, Maingano, and blue Socolofi; and perhaps more Kenyi, although I'm worried they might end up dominating my tank.


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

yes id ditch the kenyi...especially in the 55G...plenty of great species out there


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## SiNFuLWaYs (May 18, 2009)

lol sorry ill put a shirt on next time haha ..

but kenyi oh those fish are great i loved mine ! but true VERY VERY Dominant!! the only fish since i did a no no by mixing the two (midas) for a moment were actually fine with eachoter since both tank leaders great fish for personality but bad for community will attack chase an kill others in sight

but in time youll learn a lesson whenit comes to auratus i love mine so i wont get rid of it but ill seperate it every now an then in a critter cage lol does no good


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## Addesyn (Jul 1, 2009)

> lol sorry ill put a shirt on next time haha ..


Haha ok. I know I should get rid of it if I want to make progress with my tank but I've become attached to it (had it for about 6 months) and it would be difficult for me.


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## SiNFuLWaYs (May 18, 2009)

ok here is the simplest truth i myself have learned the more space the less aggression cause they arent always face to face with eachother 
its all up to you 
try keeping the auratus an just ride it out see what happens but dont have more then one auratus they are too aggressive to over stock in a tank 1 is more than enough i have 2 since i bought a tank that came with fish i was like great! another one an a male too theywould fight literally for a half hour straight spinning an grippin an ripping the tail fin they just dont stop!!!!
so i have them in 2 different tanks the new male is in a baby tank full of malawis an 2 fronts an yes a beautifully colored baby con but he might chase a lil here an there but nothing more than a 1-2 second chadse not very often its merely the visual of another possible dominant fish/ in the tank that catches their attention so its fine for now in a baby tank so you can them with smaller fish at times. some people may go against that but honestly 
EVERY FISH has its own personality!

you do what you want an keep what you want live an learn throughout time youll know what to add what to keep what to avoid an how to handle it.


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## Addesyn (Jul 1, 2009)

I really wish I had several 55gs so I could just do species tanks :drooling:


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## SiNFuLWaYs (May 18, 2009)

what city are u located i have a 60 gal in palm desert area complete set up


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## Addesyn (Jul 1, 2009)

Palm Desert? Where's that? I'm in Midway, Arkansas. Haha I just checked on my fish and my Tiger Barbs are sleeping and one is next to the bubble bar and it's tail keeps getting in the bubble flow so that it goes vertical.. lol they're silly :lol:


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

lol....one of my hongis has a habbit of swimming right in the middle of all the bubble and riding it to the top over and over and over....really fun to watch.


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## SiNFuLWaYs (May 18, 2009)

i had a electric yellow who loves to hide in the air strip i have against the back wall of the tank i swear it thnks its invisble their lol an comes out covered with hundreds of tiny air bubbles all over its body haha fish are great


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## Addesyn (Jul 1, 2009)

lol a pair of my Tiger Barbs like to try to swim against the bubble flow and race to the bottom.


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