my two red isletas are making a "members only" section.....

I am saying goodbye to my peaceful tank... yesterday my two red isletas were doing a circular dance with each other, today, they have rearranged the left side of my 125 and are allowing only themselves and the silver dollars into the "no-fly zone" . I didn't think that i would have to worry about my fish breeding for many more months, as they are not even close to that size. Who knows, hopefully they are just making themselves a fort to play in. I really don't want to have to relocate them into a different tank, or separate them. Here are a couple of videos showing them with their fort. But i missed the chance last night to record them "dancing" around the tank.
each video is around a minute long:
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The old 'let's play fort' trick

How big are they?

the largest one is around 7.5-8 inches, smallest is 5. The smallest one won't allow anything near them, while the largest one doesn't show any aggression.

side note: largest one has a lot of red all over it, smaller one is whiter in color.

DMD: it's better than my old roomates line of, "you wanna go watch my fish?" to hook and reel in the ladies

My pair spawned at a much smaller size, so that is probably whats about to happen. I had to separate mine for about 6 months so that my female could put on some size. I was shocked that they took to each other after being apart, like they new each other. They spawned in less than a week after getting back together. They are like Cons, they will breed every 3-4 weeks regardless if there are fry in the tank or not.

I'm not really looking to have them spawn, I may end up moving one to a different tank, though that will be a tough choice as i love them both. maybe i will just let them do their thing, and let nature take its course..... who knows. decisions, decisions, decisions.

Quick update:
So their fort collapsed yesterday when they removed too much of the foundation.... this made them angry and they began to attack the larger (fist + sized) rocks. By the time I had gotten home from work, most of their noses were rubbed raw. So I decided to help. I removed their collapsed fort and placed a large pot in it's place (more structural). They seemed happy with this fix and enjoyed playing in it all night.

Today when I got home from work, they had changed their minds, and had constructed a new fort on the opposite side of the tank. They also moved and changed all of the rocks /substrate of the entire 125g footprint to resemble waves in the ocean. This confused most of the other fish, as they are not sure where they should currently be located......

since i first got these two red isletas, they have been nothing but fun fish to watch and interact with. even now, with their crazy antics, they grab my full attention, and also make me laugh.

I'd recommend a red isletas to anyone wanting a great fish with personality!

LOL that is too funny. I was playing with mine this evening also. (for different reasons) My pair spawned again, so I went in to catch what was left of the last spawn. So I go in to grab their large pot, the male comes at me so I jerk my hand out. (I swear he started laughing) So I attempted it again, and he just bumps my hand with his head. (Jerk) Then every time I stuck the net in to catch the fry, he would swim into the net. Seriously? Its like he was just being a royal pain. He wasnt biting the net he was just swimming into it.

Eventually I caught them all, and replaced their pot. so as I am pulling my hand out, the male shoots towards it, (he couldnt go after my hand when it was putting the pot back) and his momentum coming to the surface, soaking me with what felt like a gallon of water.

I think he is still

madness wrote:LOL that is too funny. I was playing with mine this evening also. (for different reasons) My pair spawned again, so I went in to catch what was left of the last spawn. So I go in to grab their large pot, the male comes at me so I jerk my hand out. (I swear he started laughing) So I attempted it again, and he just bumps my hand with his head. (Jerk) Then every time I stuck the net in to catch the fry, he would swim into the net. Seriously? Its like he was just being a royal pain. He wasnt biting the net he was just swimming into it.

Eventually I caught them all, and replaced their pot. so as I am pulling my hand out, the male shoots towards it, (he couldnt go after my hand when it was putting the pot back) and his momentum coming to the surface, soaking me with what felt like a gallon of water.

I think he is still

Wow, haha! Never have I heard of a fish actually swimming INTO the net intentionally!

Haha! thats awesome. Stories like these are why the big CA/SA will always be top on my keeping list! Since my male umbee is a thick 12" with teeth and growing rapidly I seriously have to watch my hand while in the tank! He will try to hit my hand but I turn and point a finger straight at him and he backs down, then swims around my hand on his side letting me pet him, then starts all over lol. Great fun they are!