Are my GSP's courting?

Are your puffers feeling a little naughty & lil ones are the result? Post your findings here!
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PluX
Puffer Fry
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:30 am
Location (country): Netherlands

Are my GSP's courting?

Post by PluX »

I have had my three Tetraodon Nigroiridis in a brackish tank for about five years now. Because of ongoing algae problems, i decided to move them to a new marine tank, this way i am hoping they will tolerate some turbo snails and some hermit crabs, since i have heard some success on combining those with GSPs, and i need them for algae control. They went from a 50 to a 100 gallon tank. The salinity used to be around 1.015, but a few (4 i think) months ago i started raising it to marine levels (i did that with .002 increments weekly or biweekly). A day or three ago i could finally move them to their new tank, and after the first night they seemed right at home, scouring the tank for tasty treats on the live rock, or some of the live feeder shrimp i put in the tank to throw the puffers off the scent of the turbos and the hermits (which has been successful up to now).

Today two of the puffers are exhibiting very strange behavior. The three puffers always tolerated each other, but they always were visibly weary of one another. At night when they find a quiet place somewhere to lie down this is most apparent since the one that is chilling out at the bottom will veer up every time another puffer comes near, who in turn will also dash a bit back to keep a distance.

But today two of the puffers have picked a corner and they keep gathering there with the two of them. One will lie down on the gravel (there is also sand in the tank but they are on the gravel side) and lean over a bit to the side. The other puffer will lie next to it, mostly at a 90 degree angle and the puffer leaning over to a side will have its colors fade a bit. It kind of looks like one puffer is 'presenting' to the other. Something they usually would never do because they are normally very suspicious of one another and would not turn their back to each other this easily. As soon as the third puffer comes over to take a look they get up a bit and the colors of the faded leaning over puffer pop back as if nothing happened. Also when i approach the tank they will get up from the bottom of the tank to see what i am up to.

I was wondering if this could actually be courting or mating behavior. Because if it is i would like to know how i could make the best attempt in raising the fry. I am well aware these fish have not been bred in captivity successfully in any well documented case, but i think someone must have an idea on how this might work. All the information i have gathered up to now does state these are brackish water fish, but the best success stories on keeping these seem to be coming from keeping them in marine tanks. If they would mate in my marine tank, what kind of tank would i have to move the eggs to; marine or do i have to slowly adjust them to freshwater?
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