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  #201  
Old 09/18/2007, 03:59 PM
tangafish tangafish is offline
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i just got 3 bartletts in today from live aquaria, absolutely gorgeous! I couldnt tell you if they are male or female yet still hiding in their pvc tunnel in quarantine. i didnt locate this thread until after ordering them.

my question is this, should i increase the size of my harem maybe get another 3 or 4 females in hopes of the males not turning male on me. looks like the few people that have maintained females had a larger harem..what would you think the minimum harem i could get would be? i can go the the LFS and order some today if I need too.

i have a 135 they will be going in. They will be housed with a couple tanks, kole, yellow, and hippo tang so i am hoping that the will focus their agression towards the tangs not each other.
  #202  
Old 10/07/2007, 12:32 AM
kenettson1 kenettson1 is offline
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So, a few months ago I picked up a harem of lyretails (1m/3f). I'm really liking them. Took to frozen mysis pretty easily.

One of my LFS has 6 small female Bartletts for sale. They looked very good and ate the first time they were fed at the store.

After reading this thread I'm hesitant to buy a harem but how about just one?

In your estimation what would the behavior of one Bartletts be?

Aggressinve towatds smaller fish?
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  #203  
Old 10/07/2007, 08:58 AM
King-Kong King-Kong is offline
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My male Bartletts were aggressive towards smaller fish.
  #204  
Old 10/07/2007, 10:11 AM
SDguy SDguy is offline
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I agree with kong, they can be aggressive to smaller, passive fish, like firefish, small wrasses, etc. I doubt you'd have an issue, though, in a 225g tank. I'd get at least a pair though.
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  #205  
Old 10/07/2007, 11:30 AM
King-Kong King-Kong is offline
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SDGuy; was just thinking about it, but at one of my LFS show tanks (300g+), they have a bartlett in there that hasnt gone male..

She used to be solo for a long time, and then I gave them one of my males (after it turned). Hes been in with her for several months and she's still a female... she's very large, too.. certainly big enough to be a male.
  #206  
Old 10/07/2007, 11:37 AM
SDguy SDguy is offline
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Bradley had one of his stay female for a while too. But she eventually turned. My lone female is large and fat! We'll see if she stays female...
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  #207  
Old 10/07/2007, 08:35 PM
kenettson1 kenettson1 is offline
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I guess my point was that if I like this particular fish but a harem will ultimately be all male and aggresive towards each other, shouldn't I just get one? Wouldn't it end up being just one eventually?
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  #208  
Old 10/18/2007, 02:04 PM
opihi opihi is offline
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dp

Last edited by opihi; 10/18/2007 at 02:11 PM.
  #209  
Old 10/18/2007, 02:11 PM
opihi opihi is offline
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Great thread. I hope my post can add to its value.

My question is to those who had 2 males. I've read this thread countless times, and it seems that one thing that sticks out is if 2 fully transitioned males are in a tank, they will tolerate each other's existence.

Is this still true? What type of aggression did you see between your 2 males? I finally took the plunge and picked up a male and 2 females yesterday (after researching bartlett's for 5+ years). They are in a 100g QT tank, and will go into a ~260 on 11/15.

At this moment, I'm thinking that maybe their social structure spans across more than just one harem. Maybe there needs to be the presence of another (rival?) male to keep the harem intact. Like packs of monkeys on nature shows, perhaps the chain of command is kept as the supermale(s) role is to protect the harem from other males.

The LFS i purchased these Bartlett's from has 4+ more males, all in the same tank, no aggression what so ever. They have been in the tank for 3 days. I'm considering buying one more male as a means of keeping the females from turning.

Am I asking for trouble? Does my test have merit?
  #210  
Old 10/19/2007, 11:42 AM
opihi opihi is offline
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Well, i noticed a yellow bar developing on one of the females. If it's truly changing sex, then i don't want to risk adding another male.

phooey.
  #211  
Old 10/19/2007, 12:44 PM
SDguy SDguy is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by opihi
Well, i noticed a yellow bar developing on one of the females. If it's truly changing sex, then i don't want to risk adding another male.

phooey.
Yeah, I'd agree with that. From the ones I've seen, once that yellow bar forms, that's it.
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  #212  
Old 10/19/2007, 01:12 PM
Chooch1 Chooch1 is offline
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opihi,

I have 3 males and 1 female Bartletts. The supermale tolerates one of the other males and only occassionaly takes a run at him but he regularly harasses the other male so that it hides alot. Previously, the male that now hides alot was second in command and didn't get that much harassment. The lone female so far has remained a female. I'm not sure how if this affects your theory but it is interesting how the subdominant males' roles have changed.

I've also noticed that my alpha male's colors are intense for a period of time and then less intense and then they become more intense again. He has still maintained his dominant position. Has anybody else noticed this?
  #213  
Old 12/18/2007, 03:11 AM
Rekonn Rekonn is offline
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Just finished reading this excellent thread! My 90g tank is cycling now and I'm planning the fish to go in it. I noticed a theme in this thread of having other aggressive species to keep bartletts in line, and also starting with a dominant male to keep female bartletts in line. Here's what I'm thinking of so far, I appreciate your thoughts:

pair of oscellaris clownfish - 1 month
blue tang
fridmani pseudochromis - tang and fridmani added at same time, 1 month
flame angel - 1 month
four bartlett anthias - one bigger male and 3 small females added at once
 

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