Are my Pomacanthus dating?

[ManWithAPlan]

Hello saltwater people, Michael here.

I've got a Red Sea Reefer 525 Fowlr.
Within it I have a Majestic angelfish I've had for about 2 years. It's about 9.8 inches
About 2 months ago I've added an Emperor angel. Definitely a male judging by the blue face, he's about 11 inches.

From the start they have accepted each other, only sized each other up by swimming in a couple circles when the Emperor went in, and absolutely 0 aggression ever since. No circles, no chatting, no snapping, nothing.

As time went by, They got alot more friendly with each other.

They wait for me together at the glass at feeding times.
They go to the same cave when light turns to sunset and sleep there.
They occasionally do synchronised patrols, swimming side by side at matching speeds across the tank.
They spend more time together than they do apart, and when they split it's never for more than a few minutes.
If one vanishes into the rocks the other always swims by to at least have a look where the other went before getting back to it's own business.

Is this enough evidence to conclude that they are romantically involved? or are they just really good friends?


Adding a few photos of the two of them in their cave, them swimming together, and the Emperor male checking the back side of the Majestic in typical men fashion.

 

[Tahoe61]

They certainly look gorgeous and healthy. I bet they are amazing to watch. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Louis Z]

The emperor I have had for 8+ years now is Over 8 inches . My idea of a fish is just a fish that swims and eats and doesnt have higher thinking was dispelled a long time ago . Angelfish often pair up with each other and swim together as mates . For how long do they do that , I don’t know . I have seen pairs in the wild of French , grey, and imperator angels . They swam together never leaving each others side . In contrast my dwarf flame pair show no pairing other than occasional courting . Seems like it’s just a fleeting act for them . I also see pairing of certain butterfly fishes which are related to the angels . There are hybrids of angelfish . Is it possible ? . It could be that as they near their mature size that maybe their biological clock kicks in for spawning . The only pairing up I have seen of the ones I mentioned are really mature large sized angels . Will these two pair up ? Well just keep adding on this thread your observations .

 

[Australian_Reef]

No they aren’t dating.

 

[Louis Z]

In general are large angels hermaphrodites?

 

[Australian_Reef]

Sequential hermaphrodites yes. Dominant females turn to males.

 

[Louis Z]

So I have a question on pairing . Have a juvenile blue face just starting to show a hint of change in the color in the top of the dorsal . Had for about 2years . Started out about 2inches. To add another one , what size or age should I add . Currently I am looking for another 2inch juvenile so I can add to the tank to make sure it will stay female while my established one becomes male in the future . I don’t know how aggressive the young blue face will be toward the new addition . I have the 8in emperor and the blue face in the same tank and have used different sized holes and shelves to allow the juvenile to stay out of the range of the adult emperor . But if I add a smaller blue face to it I don’t have enough hides holes that will allow it to escape the 4in blue face . I wish for a bigger tank to experiment with , but I don’t have space another large tank to experiment . . Any ideas if this is possible

 

[Australian_Reef]

Personally I wouldn’t house any of those fish in a 525 for any length of time, never mind all of them.

The emperor especially will need double that size at least they get a foot long and are beefy with it. They can be very domineering fish and aren’t likely to react too well to other large angelfish being added esp in a smaller tank. My emperor was ok with established angels in the tank but too exception to a newly added majestic and I had to remove him for a month.

The blue face may well not react well to another blue face either and paring is not guaranteed. I’ve never actually tried it with a blue face though so can’t give you first hand experience. You run the risk of sustained aggression between these angels.

 

[Louis Z]

I will wait on adding any new fish to the current 125gal tank . I am always tempted to experiment but think I have enough fish in there . The school headmaster had requested more fish in the tank . So over the course of the year I added slowly about 13 small fish and three butterflies and a zebra eel and the growing blue face . So altogether 18 fish to existing 2yellow tangs , emperor , bangaii cardinal , 1flame dwarf angel . I am planning to expand to a 75 gal mangrove tank tied into the system and move some of the fishes into that system. Currently I have a 40 gal sump .

 

[Louis Z]

I will wait on adding any new fish to the current 125gal tank . I am always tempted to experiment but think I have enough fish in there . The school headmaster had requested more fish in the tank . So over the course of the year I added slowly about 13 small fish and three butterflies and a zebra eel and the growing blue face . So altogether 18 fish to existing 2yellow tangs , emperor , banggaii cardinal

 

[slingfox]

I will wait on adding any new fish to the current 125gal tank . I am always tempted to experiment but think I have enough fish in there . The school headmaster had requested more fish in the tank . So over the course of the year I added slowly about 13 small fish and three butterflies and a zebra eel and the growing blue face . So altogether 18 fish to existing 2yellow tangs , emperor , banggaii cardinal

I have that tank. It is not 125g—it is 112 gallons. The largest fish I have in mine is a Yellow Tang.