Fish sex change in tank???

JFK_Jr

JFK_Jr

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
I just found a picture of the male Genicanthus semifasciatus... I must have this angel to go with my female!!!

My LFS has another female and it has been noted that females change to males at 4".

What should I do... buy the second female? Or see if I can find a male?

Has anyone experienced a fish sex change in their tank?

Genicanthus.jpg


Here's my female...

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AQTCJAK

AQTCJAK

RS Sponsor
Beautiful fish. I am not sure if the LFS is correctin thier statement the only fish that I am aware of chage sexes are clowns they are all born female & the less dominate of a pair turns male. If the is documentation out there I would realy like to see some
 
hma

hma

Well-Known Member
AQTCJAK said:
Beautiful fish. I am not sure if the LFS is correctin thier statement the only fish that I am aware of chage sexes are clowns they are all born female & the less dominate of a pair turns male. If the is documentation out there I would realy like to see some
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A sex change is known for many fish, for example, Gramma loretto, Macropharyngodon bipartitus, some basslets and others.
 
JFK_Jr

JFK_Jr

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Last night I was able to find an article detailng the Genicanthus species.

Swallowing One Victim at a Time: The Genus Genicanthus by Henry C. Schultz III - ReefKeeping.com

In the article there is photographic documentation of a closely related angel... Genicanthus melanospilos. Apparently, not only do the females transform into males, but the opposite can also occur with males transforming into females. In my reef chronicle, Heinz wrote that he has had experience with a Genicanthus watanabei transformation, that's what I was hoping to hear. The chances of me finding a male are much less than picking up the second female. This is the first time since being in South Florida that I have come across this species... so I don't want to take a chance.
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I'm hoping my LFS has not sold the second female yet! I'll be picking her up tomorrow if I'm lucky, and I will document the transformation if it occurs in my tank. The great thing about this species is their peaceful nature... so either way I don't believe I'll have a problem housing the two in my tank.
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
Beautiful fish. I am looking forward to watching the transformation if it happens. That would be very cool.
 
hma

hma

Well-Known Member
JFK_Jr said:
Last night I was able to find an article detailng the Genicanthus species.

Swallowing One Victim at a Time: The Genus Genicanthus by Henry C. Schultz III - ReefKeeping.com

In the article there is photographic documentation of a closely related angel... Genicanthus melanospilos. Apparently, not only do the females transform into males, but the opposite can also occur with males transforming into females. In my reef chronicle, Heinz wrote that he has had experience with a Genicanthus watanabei transformation, that's what I was hoping to hear. The chances of me finding a male are much less than picking up the second female. This is the first time since being in South Florida that I have come across this species... so I don't want to take a chance.


I'm hoping my LFS has not sold the second female yet! I'll be picking her up tomorrow if I'm lucky, and I will document the transformation if it occurs in my tank. The great thing about this species is their peaceful nature... so either way I don't believe I'll have a problem housing the two in my tank.
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As i told you in your chronical thread, the transformation runs very slowly and lasts approx.. 6 months. Much luck and success :snshne:
 
JFK_Jr

JFK_Jr

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
JFK_Jr said:
I just found a picture of the male Genicanthus semifasciatus... I must have this angel to go with my female!!!

My LFS has another female and it has been noted that females change to males at 4".

What should I do... buy the second female? Or see if I can find a male?

Has anyone experienced a fish sex change in their tank?

Genicanthus.jpg
Click to expand...

Well... my saga begins! :whstlr:

I was able to score the second female and here she is... I just hope that one of them "swings both ways"! :lol:

I'll be updating this thread if and when one of the females starts to transform into a handsome male.... stay tuned!

Oh yeah... I just couldn't go to the LFS and get the female. It just happens that Jeff at Coral Reef Farm just got in a new shippment of corals... so I couldn't resist. I picked up a gorgeous purple Monti cap with blue polyps, a purple with blue edge hydnophora that I've never seen before and a frag of a green Monti cap. I posted the pics in my chronicle.

Well without further adieu... here's my ladies... at least for now! :)


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hma

hma

Well-Known Member
"Normal", we have to wait always 9 months ..... In this case, only 6-7. Good luck
 
JFK_Jr

JFK_Jr

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
JFK_Jr said:
I found this link on the marine center

Masked Swallowtail Angel

They sell these angels for $149 a piece.

Their AVAILABILITY NOTE says...
Jump on it immediately when available!

I picked up my swallowtails for $100 for the pair! :whstlr:
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JFK_Jr said:
I have no idea where my LFS picked up this pair, but the more I research these fish, the more I see how difficult they are to come by.

Here's a fish supplier in the Netherlands selling a medium sized female for 125.00€ (euros) which equals $183.




If you Google genicanthus semifasciatus, my Reef Sanctuary page is listed on the fourth page of Google... how cool is that!

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C

cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
Wow beautiful fish JFK_Jr ! I love the Genicanthus Genus and if my aquarium was bigger I would follow in your footsteps...lol

clowns they are all born female & the less dominate of a pair turns male
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This is incorrect:

Clownfish are hatched as sexually immature fish. Based on signals from their environment and being physically mature they will either remain sexually immature, change into a male or change into a male then female. This is a one way trip, sexless to male never to be sexless again and male to female never to be male again.

A clownfish kept by its self will become a female in a short period of time if it is physically mature, in as little as a month.
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reefjitsu

reefjitsu

Active Member
Many, many species of fish change sex. Some do it based on environmental clues, some just change as they mature. I am not sure about the species in question here. Let's hope that ones JFK is keeping change according to environmental cues. Otherwise, they may just both become males as they get older.
 
Frankie

Frankie

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
I wish you luck JFK. I was trying this with majestic angels but my male was to aggressive and i ended giving up. You might be more successful with the swallow tails. There more docile.
 
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