Sudden Azure Damsel Aggression - Gravid

[jefra]

I have four azure damsels that have been model citizens for about a year now. They bicker amongst each other, but leave everyone else alone.

A few days ago the largest started attacking everything that goes near its cave. My hand, the turkey baster, and other fish over 20x its size. Today I noticed it plucking away gravel and cleaning the underside of a rock. I think it may be gravid and preparing a nesting site. Could this be why it’s turned into such a jerk? Has anyone else has this sudden (hopefully temporary) aggression occur?

 

[Tahoe61]

It may very well be gravid, but as damsels mature they may become territorial and aggressive. That behavior typically does not subside.

 

[shred5]

I have four azure damsels that have been model citizens for about a year now. They bicker amongst each other, but leave everyone else alone.

A few days ago the largest started attacking everything that goes near its cave. My hand, the turkey baster, and other fish over 20x its size. Today I noticed it plucking away gravel and cleaning the underside of a rock. I think it may be gravid and preparing a nesting site. Could this be why it’s turned into such a jerk? Has anyone else has this sudden (hopefully temporary) aggression occur?

Azures are a pretty peaceful fish so it sounds like it is..
Even clowns can get real aggressive when they have a nest as will most fish.
It is a fish I would like to try and breed some day.

 

[jefra]

Azures are a pretty peaceful fish so it sounds like it is..
Even clowns can get real aggressive when they have a nest as will most fish.
It is a fish I would like to try and breed some day.

Thanks. I think it was the male since once of the others definitely has a chunky belly. I did some reading and apparently this a known behavior during breeding, "With a spawning pair the male will viciously guard his eggs, at which point, a separate tank may be needed if he starts attacking tank mates. "

 

[PatW]

I scuba dive. I have seen sergeant majors clean a rock face in a small cavern and guard eggs deposited on it. I believe that the males do the guarding. And they will defend their eggs.

 

[mort]

My pair of azures do this pretty much constantly. The male has an area that it cleans and defends and he entices the female to the site. I've never seen the female even plump and I don't think they carry eggs in the way most of us would imagine. They hydrate their eggs just before they lay them, so normally even when nearly ready to breed they look relatively normal, before taking on water and appearing fat for only a short period of time (it won't look fat for longer than 12-24 hrs unless egg bound).
I know when my male isn't guarding eggs because he's trying to get the female to his little den and develops a white nose.

I've never had any issues whatsoever with them harming other fish but my hand does take a bit of a battering. I wouldn't be without them.