Replacing Momma Nemo

[Leetch]

Today I found Momma Nemo became a potato chip after she jumped through a very small hole in my versatop and was apparently on the floor for several hours. She was mated with a smaller clown in my tank and I would like to replace her.

1) Will the smaller perc (true perc) acept a new mate?
2) Does it have to be a larger specimen since the existing perc has accepted itself to be the male (the smaller)?
3) Will there be any other acclimation process I will have to do other than the normal process to get them to accept each other or will they just do their normal head butt dance and accept each other as normal?


Thanks for the info....our family is very saddened by our tragedy and now I have to make sure I plug that small gap in my top

[leebca]

Sorry to hear of the loss.

1) Most likely, unless the fish is very old.
2) It would be the least stressful on the current fish and most likely to succeed if the new fish was significantly larger.
3) Hard to say. Most will go through their usual ritual, but there is always a chance they will not accept each other. You'll have to watch them closely.

It would facilitate the process if the current one was put into quarantine. While you quarantine the new fish and watch for disease or problems, rearrange the tank. Then when the new fish has passed through quarantine, put both back into the rearranged display tank at the same time.