A few years ago I got a pair of banggai cardinals. Long story short, they bred, now and then 1 fry survived and I ended up with a shoal of 11 adults. They have been at peace since September 2020.
The male got a batch of eggs a couple of weeks ago and yesterday the female kicked him out of her territory and he is hiding behind a gyre pump at the top of the tank. He is still holding.
When he gets scared by something, he joins the shoal for a while but he soon returns to hide near the pump.
I also noticed that the female began courting a new male.
It's normally impossible to net any of them, but I may have a chance because he's near the surface. I thought about moving him to the refugium and let him finish the incubation there.
But I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do.
If I remove him, I fear he won't be able to return to the tank without lots of fighting.
Maybe she will take him back after he releases the fry in a week or too?
The male got a batch of eggs a couple of weeks ago and yesterday the female kicked him out of her territory and he is hiding behind a gyre pump at the top of the tank. He is still holding.
When he gets scared by something, he joins the shoal for a while but he soon returns to hide near the pump.
I also noticed that the female began courting a new male.
It's normally impossible to net any of them, but I may have a chance because he's near the surface. I thought about moving him to the refugium and let him finish the incubation there.
But I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do.
If I remove him, I fear he won't be able to return to the tank without lots of fighting.
Maybe she will take him back after he releases the fry in a week or too?