Mated pair of scissortail dartfish?

Jeremy1988 · 04/28/2016, 10:19 PM

Hey there, anyone know as far as keeping 2 scissor tail dartfish if they need to be a mated pair or not? Please people comment back with actual real experience...or know of someone that personally had success with it...well okay...and or are sure they heard from a forum site that it works haha.

username in use · 04/29/2016, 06:30 AM

You're best bet is to buy a pair that is already tolerant of each other and swimming somewhat together. If they are mismatched they can become territorial and fight. As far as I know they are not sexually dimorphic so trying to pick individuals to live together can be problematic.

Bent · 04/29/2016, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by username in use

You're best bet is to buy a pair that is already tolerant of each other and swimming somewhat together. If they are mismatched they can become territorial and fight. As far as I know they are not sexually dimorphic so trying to pick individuals to live together can be problematic.

This.

borderreef · 04/29/2016, 02:46 PM

Finding a mated pair at your lfs is a crap shot at best. Just because they are swimming together and seem to be getting along for the short time they are in a lfs tank, does not mean they are opposite sex, or that they will be compatable for the long term. I feel that the best bet is to buy from someone like Live Aquaria where the fish have truly been sexed. I tried both, and had success from only LA.

Jeremy1988 · 05/04/2016, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by borderreef

Finding a mated pair at your lfs is a crap shot at best. Just because they are swimming together and seem to be getting along for the short time they are in a lfs tank, does not mean they are opposite sex, or that they will be compatable for the long term. I feel that the best bet is to buy from someone like Live Aquaria where the fish have truly been sexed. I tried both, and had success from only LA.

Thanks Borderreef...yeah I called LA...and they say that they cannot guarantee they will ship you a mated pair. It sounds sort of difficult...they recommended me keep looking onto divers den and get a trio special that they run. They said that's you best bet and that there more likely to be successful as a trio than a "mated pair"...I may just end up getting one and saying screw it lol. I'm still working on it...I wanted a mated pair because I have read that scissortails do better with a buddy

Jeremy1988 · 05/04/2016, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by username in use

You're best bet is to buy a pair that is already tolerant of each other and swimming somewhat together. If they are mismatched they can become territorial and fight. As far as I know they are not sexually dimorphic so trying to pick individuals to live together can be problematic.

Thanks...yeah I may just get one and call it good.

Jeremy1988 · 08/28/2016, 07:39 PM

Hey there...so this is the current situation. I initially bought 3 scissor tail dartfish from LA like almost 5 months ago. One was a DOA. They were all shipped in different bags. The other 2 were in my 10 gallon quarantine for 12 weeks. I noticed that one seemed to be a bit more dominant as the weeks passed and got more of the food. I added them to my 90 gallon DT with lots of LR. They are the ONLY fish in there. As of now they have been in there about a month. I seems like the one hides quite often if not all the time and the other one is outside of the den...either on patrol or curiosity. The one still seems dominant and "fatter" the other one does come out with the other one at certain time...usually after the initial feed. It seems skinner and has a much more submissive look. It has a bowed appearance when around the other one and noticeably skinner...but yet good coloration thru out. My gut tells me that eventually the one will possibly starve...do I maybe need to remove one of them? I dont see fighting when they are BOTH out...but whenever I try to use the turkey baster and spot feed into the den the more dominant one seems to run back into the hole and seems to possibly rough up the other one. Again they are under a large piece of pukani rock so its hard to exactly see it but there seems to be some rustling going around in there at those times...other than that they dont seem to noticeably fight. I watch my tank quite often as well and feel like these are the only real signs of aggression during feeding times...

04/28/2016, 10:19 PM	#1
Jeremy1988 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 209	Mated pair of scissortail dartfish? Hey there, anyone know as far as keeping 2 scissor tail dartfish if they need to be a mated pair or not? Please people comment back with actual real experience...or know of someone that personally had success with it...well okay...and or are sure they heard from a forum site that it works haha.

04/29/2016, 06:30 AM	#2
username in use Sciencing Daily Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 6,560	You're best bet is to buy a pair that is already tolerant of each other and swimming somewhat together. If they are mismatched they can become territorial and fight. As far as I know they are not sexually dimorphic so trying to pick individuals to live together can be problematic. __________________ Joshua "With fronds like these, who needs anemones?" - Albert Einstein Current Tank Info: multiple nano's sprinkled around the house

04/29/2016, 02:46 PM	#4
borderreef Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: east brookfield, ma Posts: 572	Finding a mated pair at your lfs is a crap shot at best. Just because they are swimming together and seem to be getting along for the short time they are in a lfs tank, does not mean they are opposite sex, or that they will be compatable for the long term. I feel that the best bet is to buy from someone like Live Aquaria where the fish have truly been sexed. I tried both, and had success from only LA. __________________ There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want. Calvin and Hobbs Current Tank Info: 40b mixed reef with 20g sump. Mg 9.5 return pump running GFO and GAC. Reef Octopus DNW-150 protein skimmer. DIY stand and canopy with 2x 250w MH and 4x 39w vho t5s. Reefkeeper elite controller.

08/28/2016, 07:39 PM	#7
Jeremy1988 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 209	Hey there...so this is the current situation. I initially bought 3 scissor tail dartfish from LA like almost 5 months ago. One was a DOA. They were all shipped in different bags. The other 2 were in my 10 gallon quarantine for 12 weeks. I noticed that one seemed to be a bit more dominant as the weeks passed and got more of the food. I added them to my 90 gallon DT with lots of LR. They are the ONLY fish in there. As of now they have been in there about a month. I seems like the one hides quite often if not all the time and the other one is outside of the den...either on patrol or curiosity. The one still seems dominant and "fatter" the other one does come out with the other one at certain time...usually after the initial feed. It seems skinner and has a much more submissive look. It has a bowed appearance when around the other one and noticeably skinner...but yet good coloration thru out. My gut tells me that eventually the one will possibly starve...do I maybe need to remove one of them? I dont see fighting when they are BOTH out...but whenever I try to use the turkey baster and spot feed into the den the more dominant one seems to run back into the hole and seems to possibly rough up the other one. Again they are under a large piece of pukani rock so its hard to exactly see it but there seems to be some rustling going around in there at those times...other than that they dont seem to noticeably fight. I watch my tank quite often as well and feel like these are the only real signs of aggression during feeding times...