Orchid dottyback mystery

[Patrick.S]

I have had a pair of orchid dottybacks in the tank for the past couple months. They both seemed to be doing fine and there doesn’t seem to be much aggression in the tank. The other day one of them inexplicably dropped dead. No spots, marks, scratching, or anything obvious. I put it down as just one of those things. A day later however I see the other dottyback laying a mass of eggs. So... are the two related. Did the male love himself to death. Did the female get territorial and grease him? Coincidence??

 

[Zionas]

I have heard of cases where males of some species exhaust themselves to death prematurely due to all the breeding. I think it happens in Bangaiis as well. Not sure if that’s the case with yours, so I’ll let others weigh in.

 

[LardLad]

Yes. At least he was doing what he loved. God bless him

 

[Zionas]

Yeah I found this out form a former member called mort. He told me the male gets worn or by the constant breeding, while females can live 8+ years.