Fear of constant stress

[tkvalentine]

so Vlad and Tristan have been in visible sight of each other (via divider, of course). Tristan couldn't care any less about Vlad's existence. He'd rather flare at me every now and then than have anything to do but swim past the divider without so much as a stop to see Vlad. Vlad, on the other hand, seems obsessed with watching Tristan and constantly flaring any time he gets remotely close to the divider. I've been watching on and off tonight, and I don't think Vlad has left the divider in the past hour or more. He just swims back and forth, watching Tristan's every move.

My concern is how much stress this is causing Vlad :/ I have no other suitable home for him except a 2.5g bowl, but the heater for it is less than suitable. I'll give him this, he did stay in the cave at some point during the night, because I couldn't find him in the morning (and I naturally panicked and checked the floor...) and then he just kind of poked his head out of the cave. But other than that, it seems like constant watch on Tristan.

Tristan just minds his own business and swims where he well pleases.

[Kytkattin]

How long have they been together? As long as Vlad still seems to be in good health I would leave him in there for at least a week. Of course, monitor his health, but as long as he seems to be healthy I would let him just get used to the new situation. Once he realizes that Tristan can't get over he should relax more. He will probably always flare, and it is good that he has places to get out of sight. If you can, maybe put some more plants next to the divider to break of Vlad's line of sight.

When I put my boys in their divided tank Smaug, the pink fish in my avi, flared so much his anal fin tore about 1cm! However, it healed quickly and now they are okay with each other.