Candy basslet

[Reefer911]

I have a male candy basslet in a Waterbox 35.2 with only a diamond goby for keeping the sand clean. It’s essentially the basslet’s tank. He was paired before but she died after a heater mishap.
I want to add another candy basslet and try to get a female if possible hoping they will pair. I’ll deconstruct my current rock structure when the time comes to hopefully resolve any territorial issues.
But here’s my question. Would there be any issues with adding a mated pair of candy basslets? As in, there would be 3 in the tank.

 

[BryanM]

I have a male candy basslet in a Waterbox 35.2 with only a diamond goby for keeping the sand clean. It’s essentially the basslet’s tank. He was paired before but she died after a heater mishap.
I want to add another candy basslet and try to get a female if possible hoping they will pair. I’ll deconstruct my current rock structure when the time comes to hopefully resolve any territorial issues.
But here’s my question. Would there be any issues with adding a mated pair of candy basslets? As in, there would be 3 in the tank.

A pretty quick google search says nope, nada, do not do it.

You need to either rehome the current one to add a mated pair, or you need to get an immature juvenile to add to the tank which will likely pair to your current one.

 

[Reefer911]

Thanks

Since you seem to be the google wizard , can you tell me what you searched to get that information?

 

[BryanM]

Thanks

Since you seem to be the google wizard , can you tell me what you searched to get that information?

"Can I add a mated candy basslet pair to a single thats already in my tank"

Top results are an AI overview, but territorial, fighting, etc was backed up by:

https://www.liveaquaria.com/blogs/stocking-your-aquarium/reef-basslets-grammas

 

[KrisReef]

I agree with the AI guess , based upon typical fish behavior around mating pairs and single established males in a fish aquarium. In general, (without specific knowledge around Candy Basslet’s) I would be cautious about adding a new single, and more concerned adding an established pair. The single addition almost assuredly would start a confrontation dialogue between the two, and depending upon their individual personalities and tendencies towards aggression the interaction could become either negative or positive, with safe bets favoring at least some minor damage occurring to one or both players.

A mated pair addition carries similar odds relative to conflict, but may favor the negative effects against the single original fish who will have 2 invaders including a female who may viciously defend her man in any conflict. It could turn into a ghetto brawl with no holds barred in a much greater degree.

But back to AI.

I axed AI about Candy Basslet aggression and the smart machine assumed that I was too stupid to enter candy BASKETs, and the result was pretty good:

AI Overview


No, candy baskets are inanimate objects and do not possess biological traits, consciousness, or the capacity for territorial behavior. [1]
However, this question usually comes up in a few specific contexts where "territorial" behavior