She died...

[creampuff]

My female Irrubesco was bitten to death on Christmas day.
It was probably my fault... I should have separated them. But they'd been living together for quite awhile, and though she suffered some tail and fin loss, she always managed to duck fast enough. And I thought it was planted enough for her to find spaces to hide. Apparently not.

Sobs. She was so cute. I don't know if I should ever attempt to get tyrant of a male another mate. Or should I just leave him to be a bachelor for the rest of his life.

[Rocker]

So sorry to hear that.I would leave him on his own. The best chance was to introduce them together.

[Woland]

Sorry for your loss.
In my experience these fishes thrive in a larger tank.
The aggression level of the male will fall dramatically with space.
I keep 1 male and 2 females in a 90 gallon without any issues whatsoever.
And my male irrubesco is a serial killer of the worst kind with scores of innocent lifes on his non-existent conscience.

[Pamela]

How horrid. Sorry for your loss. Leave him on his own...would it be ok to introduce him to a new ladyfriend if you were to move him to a new tank at the same time?
Opinions?
Pami.

[Tihsho]

Pami, adding another mate for the male is possible when you bump up a tank. Best bet is to intro duce the female first so she gets the first peak of the tank and she will be more secure knowing her way around, then add the male.

[abc]

sorry for your loss! bummer to lose an irrubesco

what size tank are we talking about? was the male/female in a 10g? Woland suggests a 90g but I think that's overdoing it for puffers that are basically dwarf-sized. Would a 29g, 40g, 55g be just as fine for a few of them? curious what would be the minimum suggested size


abc

[Rocker]

I don't think he was suggesting that size , just stating that his are kept in a 90!

[Woland]

I don't think he was suggesting that size , just stating that his are kept in a 90!

Indeed!
But; the 90 gallon is the first tank where the irrubesco male doesn't go utterly "Viking".
I tried many different sized tanks over the two years I've kept him.
Held him, a female and a shoal of tiger barbs in a 42 gallon.
He killed the barbs one by one during nighttime.
I think he mustv'e done in close to 40 fishes, including a pleco 5 times his size.
In the 90 gallon community tank where he currently resides there has been no wrongful deaths (except for the odd expendable neontetra) for months.
Even dared introducing a couple of Microphageus ramirezi (Butterfly Chiclids) in the tank.
Works out beautifully. The garden of bleedin' Eden!

[creampuff]

They were both kept in a 20G. I couldn't introduce them together, as when I bought the male, the only female left was a very sickly specimen (thanks to the LFS) who didn't make it. After combing Singapore, another female irrubesco was finally found. She was however, much smaller than the male, and was kept in a separator net for awhile, until she grew slightly bigger. Oh well... maybe I should scrape the idea of getting him a mate.

And I ditto the "no conscience" part. He seems to be much happier now that he has killed the wife. Sounds very disturbing.

By the way, he leaves other fish alone. He has lived with tetras and otos (still lives with otos now), and he ignores them totally. They've never suffered damage of any sort. The female somehow just wasn't to his taste?

[abc]

thanks for all the helpful information. when they come back in season (usually around March-April), I plan on getting some irrubescos and after the above posts, realize I need a larger tank if I want more than just one inhabitant.

[Cindy]

So sad! The females are more sweet-natured than the males so they get bullied. Now I better keep an eye on the four I have.