Greedy Male behavior

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I started out with 1 pair of seahorses in my 47 g tank. The male got ill and I euthanized him after 2 months of treatment that didn't help him. The female mopped the entire time he was in the Hospital tank. I ended up getting 2 more seahorses to put in the tank and she perked right up with the added company. Then the 2 new additions hooked up and she was the lonley female again. Poor baby. So off I go to get her a "friend". Now there are 2 M and 2 F. Right as rain you'd think.........Nope, Not in my tanks of course.

Now the problems began. The male that was alone with 2 females the longest, is being a bully. He thinks he owns both of the females. Whenever the new male goes near either of the females, the old male snicks him in the head. Why? He has his "woman" and never pays any attention to the other female. He just doesn't want the new male to pay attention to her either. The new male is more mature then the old male. He has a much bigger pouch. Can the old male sense that the new male is "courting" age and he is not? Is there anything I can do to stop the agressive behavior? The sad thing is that the lonley female likes the new male a lot and she is always seeking him out. The poor guy gets snicked in the head even when he's not the one doing the seeking. It's sad because he spends a lot of time hiding in the caulerpa for fear of getting snicked in the head. (the not so lonley female hides there with him sometimes He can't win for looseing, lol.

The new male and the lonley female were trying to court today, but they kept getting interrupted by the other male. How long should I let this go on? What should I do? Please don't tell me I have to seperate the 2 pairs. One more tank and I'll be seperated !!!!

Angie

[jojo22]

Maby he's over compesateing for something????? My first thought would be that they will choose their own pecking....or should i say snicking order but hey I am just starting to read these posts and learn about the ponys. I am sure someone much more versed will step in.

[JustDavidP]

I had this same problem. I had just one male and two females when I got my tank first set up back when. The new male was ostracized from day one...by ALL of the other ponies.

However, after rearranging the aquascape (confuses the existing occupants and makes it less likely for them to be interested in the new acquisition) and making new "hidey holes" for Beta Male, the pecking ceased.

The new male was able to find his way around the tank sooner than the original trio. For him, it was all new and exciting territory. For the trio, and the agressive male, it was a hinderance. They didn't even know where to look for the new kid on the block when he was hiding. It took them some time to figure out the lay of the land, and when they did, they showed little to no interest in the new male.

Perhaps they thought "Hey, this isn't OUR territory...it looks nothing like it did before" and figured they may now be in HIS territory. In any case it worked.

If you could move around a little of the aquascaping, both making new hiding spots for the new fish and confusing the old fish, it may work.

This is a typical practice for many aquarists when adding a new fish and witnessing territorial issues.

Dave

[dakar]

Changing up the aquascape around on them should prove interesting... I watch Angel working in her corral and the ponies are always so dang nosey.... moving things around and they are right there looking to see what she's doing.... not to mention immediately hitching to her fingers to say "Howdy Ma! Whatcha bring us good to eat?" I'd swear they actually do form some sort of bond to their keeper.

Fortunately, for us the only time we made any the herd was 2 added to the existing 4, but they were still very young and didn't witness any real bullies.

[JustDavidP]

Hippocampus are bright! Mine also flirt and will NOT stop dancing at the front pane when hungry. Typically it's the girls. They are forced to the front of the tank while the males keep their grounds in the center of the rock work, hunting for wild food. This is why my males are brilliant in color and have zero alga growing on them. The females, who don't have the luxury of a shady spot, have macro and cyano etc. all over their backs.

D

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

The aggression is getting better. The one who was getting picked on is the only one who is still getting 1 live shrimp a day. He is a very slow eater when it comes to the frozen. He watches it so long the others snick it out from infront of him and he gets none. So I sneak him a live one once a day right before lights out for the night. He snicks that in a hurry! I try to make sure it's a pregnant live shrimp. Extra yummy with babies, lol.
The other 3 get 2 live shrimp a week each as a treat. Otherwise it's frozen all of the time. No more frozen food snobs for me, thank you! That was way too expensive.