crosshatch

[dman17878]

Is there anyway to tell if a 4" crosshatch is a male or female? They are suppose to be diamorphic. But its also said that males dont exist in this size or do they actualy mean that its impossable to tell the difference at this size?

 

[Anonymous]

Here's a quote from David A. Crandall's article...

This fish is sexually dimorphic. Each scale is outlined in black, creating the "crosshatch" look. Males have a yellow color and a red tail with a blue submarginal band. In females, the scales and tail are gray to blue. In supermales, each yellow scale has a light blue dot in the center.

FYI, neither simultaneous nor sequential hermaphrodism occurs within the family Balistidae.

The comment you're asking about I take to mean that males are impossible to tell from females at smaller sizes. I haven't seen enough of them in person to definitively tell you at what size dimorphism becomes a reliable indicator of sex, perhaps someone else will chime in.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-08/dc/index.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6cQiAlQnBM

 

[dman17878]

FYI, neither simultaneous nor sequential hermaphrodism occurs within the family Balistidae.




Where did you find this Info ive been looking and cant find where its from

 

[Anonymous]

I found that info such as it is, sometime in the last 23 years of doing this.
I should add a heaping "to my knowledge" at the end of that statement as well.

 

[dfladermaus]

Slightly off topic, but I have a "male" blue jaw. He was at one point very "male" looking but since has lost most of his blue jaw and the yellow around the fins has turned to a reddish brown. Is this typical of males without females, or has the fish reverted sexes and gone female like some other fish do?

Thanks
Paul

 

[HELLYEAH]

i sold a male crosshatch that wasn't more than 4 inches. smaller males don't get shipped to u.s.a they command higher prices in asia or germany.

 

[dman17878]

Thanks for answering my question . This originated with the shipping loss of my male crosshatch, the female is about 3.5-4" long and from looking at marine centers site


"MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED CROSSHATCH TRIGGER QUESTION:
Everyone wants small male crosshatch for his or her reef tank. Good luck with that. Males simply do not exist in smaller sizes. Just like your four your old son doesn't need to shave yet… same thing with fish. It's not gonna happen until he's much larger. A smaller crosshatch will always be a female. A 4" specimen will not look like an 8" mature adult, and even males and females are almost impossible to differentiate and they're still then they're both spectacular. Those in the know jump on *any* crosshatch trigger that is available."

I was unclear as to if you could tell the diffrence at this size . The collector that sold it to me is going to replace it but I needed to be sure that I needed a male not a female

 

[Fish Finder]

I have gotten 4" pairs. Had to pay double what i pay for the bigger pairs but it was worth it. Though ppl say the small one's get shipped to asia or germany that in not 100% tru. There are some ppl here that are willing to pay for the size. I am one of them. Here's a pic of the pair i had before i sold them.

 

[blue155]

very nice crosshatch pics. i have kept larger ones in the past. it would be cool to see small specimens like this more often!