Show off your tilefish!

[christinna77]

I'm both confused and intrigued by this behavior I've been noticing with my new purple tilefish They're still in QT at the moment (suspected flukes).

They started hovering vertically together a lot in the last day or two, very close or even touching each other, often with one facing head down and the other facing head up. Sometimes they'll give each other little "kisses" or small nips too. One of them may swim away, but usually returns in a bit and the hovering resumes.

I can't tell if this means I've got a pair or if they're two males/females fighting. Wouldn't it be more aggressive if they were fighting? Is this a good or bad sign? Perhaps @i cant think you've seen this before?

 

[i cant think]

I'm both confused and intrigued by this behavior I've been noticing with my new purple tilefish They're still in QT at the moment (suspected flukes).

They started hovering vertically together a lot in the last day or two, very close or even touching each other, often with one facing head down and the other facing head up. Sometimes they'll give each other little "kisses" or small nips too. One of them may swim away, but usually returns in a bit and the hovering resumes.

I can't tell if this means I've got a pair or if they're two males/females fighting. Wouldn't it be more aggressive if they were fighting? Is this a good or bad sign? Perhaps @i cant think you've seen this before?

It looks to me as though they are possibly pairing, fighting would usually be much more up front and clear, whilst minor territorial disputes or pairing IME is usually more what you’re seeing.

Id say if it was territorial, they'd be on other sides of the tank as opposed to being together.

 

[christinna77]

I'm both confused and intrigued by this behavior I've been noticing with my new purple tilefish They're still in QT at the moment (suspected flukes).

They started hovering vertically together a lot in the last day or two, very close or even touching each other, often with one facing head down and the other facing head up. Sometimes they'll give each other little "kisses" or small nips too. One of them may swim away, but usually returns in a bit and the hovering resumes.

I can't tell if this means I've got a pair or if they're two males/females fighting. Wouldn't it be more aggressive if they were fighting? Is this a good or bad sign? Perhaps @i cant think you've seen this before?

It looks to me as though they are possibly pairing, fighting would usually be much more up front and clear, whilst minor territorial disputes or pairing IME is usually more what you’re seeing.

Id say if it was territorial, they'd be on other sides of the tank as opposed to being together.

This would be absolutely amazing then. Having a pair that regularly spawns is the dream.

I've not been able to find any footage of tilefish pairing behavior, but it does remind me of how clownfish pair up in some aspects.

I still can't tell who'd be the female in this case, but it looks like the smaller one usually nips and nudges the larger one, is generally more outgoing, and patrols around the cave regularly, while the large one mostly stays put.

 

[i cant think]

This would be absolutely amazing then. Having a pair that regularly spawns is the dream.

I've not been able to find any footage of tilefish pairing behavior, but it does remind me of how clownfish pair up in some aspects.

I still can't tell who'd be the female in this case, but it looks like the smaller one usually nips and nudges the larger one, is generally more outgoing, and patrols around the cave regularly, while the large one mostly stays put.

There’s definitely times where this hobby comes in clutch for the scientific side of the reality. What scientists may often overlook because they’re not necessarily easy to observe naturally or don’t really spike scientific interest due to either being of a least concern status or not ‘EDGE’ species’ we know very little about. It’s why I love this hobby, we find out so much more than what is actually out there.


Hopefully we see at least more pairing behaviour if not spawning behaviour from these two! Just to show everyone the even more unusual side to tilefish, and help us understand more about these fish.