Endler males just showing off or aggression?

I have two endlers in my 5.5g shrimp tank and was trying to move the third one in there as well.

They seemed to express what looks to me like a threatening behavior. They would take turns flaring at each other, fins all stretched out as wide as possible, spine bent through and trembling at times. Here's a video of their behavior:

The blue one displayed this behavior as well in the beginning, but later on it was mostly one of the orange ones (photo below).

They all seemed to ignore that they were in a new tank and only focus on each other. The situation seemed a bit stressful, so I moved the blue one back into the 20 gallon long, where he was graciously adopted into the shoal of boraras brigittae.

(It's really cute to watch the much larger endler swimming around with the boraras. Once in a while, he tries to take the lead, but since none of the boraras follows him, he usually just shrugs his shoulders and turns around to join them again. So I guess he could stay with them if the other two endlers are not too happy about his presence.)

Is this normal behavior to establish some sort of hierarchy among the males? Will they stop doing this once they have established that hierarchy? It's definitely fascinating and beautiful to watch, but it seems a bit intense for the poor little guys.

Here's one of the orange endlers:



He's quite a beauty, isn't he?

 

Your boys are gender confused. That's mating behavior lol!

Don't worry though, my endler males get all pretty and dance for each other all the time

 

Your boys are gender confused. That's mating behavior lol!

Completely agree. Nothing to worry about, they love showing off. Mine do this little dance at their own reflection.

 

I agree too. I have seen them do this before. Also that orange endler is really cool!

 

That's good to know!

Do they show any behavior that is NOT sex related?
At least the blue one hasn't (yet) put the move on the boraras... LOL

I guess I'll try to net him again and put him in with the other two as planned.

 

No, endler males do not have any behavior that is not sex related.... lol!

Fortunately their advances on each other tend to not be too violent

 

No, endler males do not have any behavior that is not sex related.... lol!

They will on occasion take a short break to eat, but even that won't last long, then it's back to mating mode.

 

haha mine are always all flared and pretty for the girls... even when eating. Poor ladies probably don't know what to do with themselves.

 

Oh, wow!

 

Here are the two orange endlers together. I guess the second one colored up a bit or the light just came from the right angle, but he doesn't have to hide either. ;-)




I guess I can be glad I only have male endlers!

BTW, these two act pretty "normal" when alone. It was only when I added the blue one that they got hyper active.

 

They can gang up on someone, and while they don't actually nip the victim, the harrassment can be continual and incredibly stressful. You did the right thing in taking out your blue boy. I generally have about 30-50 males together, and sometimes there'll be packs chasing someone or else face-offs, but they'll get distracted and chase something else. Food is the only thing that interrupts their hormonal drive, and then only briefly. A boy who doesn't dance around and flare up is ill