[Bpiche]

So I have two male Brevis that duked it out for what seemed like all day yesterday, and suprisingly the big one lost and has been hiding in one of my rock piles without eating for the last day.

When I put him in the tank I rearranged the tank and now had two rock piles on either end, and then a bridge like rock structure (with no empty spots below) joining the piles down the middle of he tank, thinking that this would be enough to keep the males away from each other. Apparently not!

Would a large rock pile in the middle and shell areas on either side be an Ok option?

It's a 36" long tank, with 4 Brevis, 2 Comps (1 of which lives in a shell) and some Danios. Will eventually get a pair of Ornatus (which is why I had the two piles)

Thoughts?

 

[shellies215]

You didn't say how many shells you have, but I would put rocks at 12'' and 24" and shells in the 3 open spaces between

 

[prov356]

Did you add him later? Your post seems to imply the other was already in the tank and he was added later. I'd just make sure they both have shells as far apart from each other as possible. Brevis don't normally fret over that big of a territory, but if he was a newcomer, that would explain it. Just give the loser a shell to hide in and eventually the other will go back to defending a small area. It just takes time. Normally they only need a distance of several inches between shells. But, in this case, separate them as much as possible. The sight breaks won't help if he's intent on getting the newcomer to vacate the premises. Eventually he'll settle about it. Is the 'winner' paired up with a female? Is so, that would also explain the unusual aggression.

 

[Bpiche]

*** got 7 shells. The dominant is paired up.

*** put shells as far apart and the sub-dominant hasn't gone near anything but the rocks.

Thanks again guys, we'll see what happens

 

[prov356]

Maybe try giving him a shell hidden behind the rock pile he's occupying, sort of totally hidden from the other. They're just more comfortable in shells. I think time is all it needs. If he pairs up with the last one (assuming it's a female, of course) then that could embolden him. I like having mulitple pairs in a tank. The interaction will get better, meaning mostly just a lot of posturing.

 

[Bpiche]

Did a big rearrange, and both males had found their place with a female, with no beating on each other. So hopefully works out!

 

[dotbomb]

When I first got my pearly ocellatus they fought something fierce for the first couple of days. Jaw locking full body slams to the sand with sand flying everywhere. Territory disputes were fierce but there was no permanent harm done. Now that the territories are established it is a bunch of posturing and short chasing going on.

 

[prov356]

Did a big rearrange, and both males had found their place with a female, with no beating on each other. So hopefully works out!

Sounds like it's going in the right direction. If they eventually totally ignore each other, I'd start moving them closer together little by little. The interaction between two pairs can be interesting to watch, as long as they're not beating on each other, of course. Mine just did a lot of flaring. Their shells were about 12" apart.