Mating Behavior

[Paul B]

I have always said that if your fish are exhibiting mating behavior they are in the best of health. There are as many varied mating behaviors as there are fish. My fireclowns just get next to each other and shake while smacking each other with their tails, my bluestripped pipefish kind of swim parallel to each other and occasionally wrap around each other. Bangai cardinals just stay next to each other as do seahorses and the male of these gobies drag the female around in their mouth. This male has been holding (gingerly) the female by the area just before the tail for an hour. She is playing hard to get and is probably not ready to lay eggs. This pair has been laying eggs for a few years now.

Here is the female tending an earlier spawning