sex change

[alistair]

I'm told that if i have three female anthias, the largest dominant fish will become male. Does that mean it will change its coloring and grow the filiment fin?
How long will this conversion take?

 

[prattreef]

yes it will. A few months perhaps.

 

[alistair]

From what I've seen the males are much more expensive than the females. Is there advantage to buying a male and two females rather than 3 females?

 

[muntai]

yes, no waiting

 

[alistair]

No compatability issues?

 

[prattreef]

both pros and cons. Often the changed female will not reach the full coloration of a wild super-male. Often a wild male will beat the females mercilessly. IME and it may take some time, but you will only end up with one Anthias anyway. The natural school sizes are large and the dominance hierarchies are very complex, this proves difficult for the fish to replicate/compensate for in an aquarium.

I've found starting with all females generally is a smoother way to go, but it only prolongs the process.

 

[alistair]

I'm in no hurry, I plan to stay in this hobby for a long time.

 

[masterswimmer]

Good conversation Alistair. Thanks for the heads up Randy. I love this hobby....something new every day.

swimmer

 

[jhale]

both pros and cons. Often the changed female will not reach the full coloration of a wild super-male. Often a wild male will beat the females mercilessly. IME and it may take some time, but you will only end up with one Anthias anyway. The natural school sizes are large and the dominance hierarchies are very complex, this proves difficult for the fish to replicate/compensate for in an aquarium.

I've found starting with all females generally is a smoother way to go, but it only prolongs the process.

I think what Randy's saying is from his experience it's best not to buy a group of Anthias, but to keep just one.

 

[Awibrandy]

I have 5 larytails, 5 stockys, and 2 unknown anthias I've had the larys a few months, the unknown a couple of months, and the stockys about a month. So far the larys are the only ones I've notice a change in two of them. Consequently those are the two that are having minor squabbles. I guess the two want to be male, I figuer the stronger will be the male of the pack. Other then that they are all getting along.

 

[Falco]

I have had 6 Lyretail Anthias for over a year and a half and I started by buying 5 females and 1 male. I noticed when I added them to my tank that one of the females has a slight filiment fin but the male made sure to keep that female in check. Everything went well for over a year but during the past few months I noticed that the female with the slight filiment fin started to grow more aggressive and started fighting the male. It took about 3 weeks for the female to fully change into a super male and during that process the color changed to a very deep purple and it is now by far the most colorful male anthias I have ever seen. After the female fully changed my old male disapeared and I haven't seen him since.

The new super male seems to be more aggressive than the old male but only time will tell if he starts to knock off my other females.

 

[Awibrandy]

I have had 6 Lyretail Anthias for over a year and a half and I started by buying 5 females and 1 male. I noticed when I added them to my tank that one of the females has a slight filiment fin but the male made sure to keep that female in check. Everything went well for over a year but during the past few months I noticed that the female with the slight filiment fin started to grow more aggressive and started fighting the male. It took about 3 weeks for the female to fully change into a super male and during that process the color changed to a very deep purple and it is now by far the most colorful male anthias I have ever seen. After the female fully changed my old male disapeared and I haven't seen him since.

The new super male seems to be more aggressive than the old male but only time will tell if he starts to knock off my other females.

Please do keep us posted...

 

[jhale]

After the female fully changed my old male disapeared and I haven't seen him since.

call in CSI REEF TANK squad before it's too late

 

[prattreef]

As I said... it might take some time but....

Jon, I wasn't necessarily recommending against a group, they look much better this way IMO, but you need to be aware of what is likely to happen and decide if you can handle that.