RE: tank with apistos cacatuoides

["Yvan Alleau" <yalleau@coas.oregonstate.edu>]

hi Mike,
that testosterone point is a  good one! that would make complete sense!
Also, wouldn't the male be "expecting" (deep in the remains of their wild
brain = primitive brain?) some king of color for the female to have that
would trigger their interest? From the description people were making, the
fish were not even spawning which is the first step. Absence of attraction?
I guess I am trying to say that it is more likely for a male (or a female)
of a given species to be attracted by a sexual partner (of the opposite sex)
when this partner looks like it is of the opposite sex. Would a male even
inquire about a member of his species that he considers to be of the same
sex then him: i doubt so. Therefore a female with a lot of red in her fins,
with developed fins would look like a male. For example i've noticed with A.
nijsseni that the male was choosing the female that displayed the largest
black patches on her body, if he has the choice. These female looked more
"attractive" to him (they were also the dominant female, due to marking?)
Therefore would a female of that species be successful in breeding  without
any marking? Could she induce the males' interest? What would be her chances
if she was looking like another male?
That brings up another question: i personnaly like a female to look like
....... a female! I mean, i wouldn't like my female nijsseni (cute little
cows!) or whatever to look like a male. they have their own personnaly
beauty. so what would be the point of having female cacatuoides looking like
males? But that is a matter of personal taste I guess.
However I guess fish are also recognizing each other with some kind of
hormones that they release in the water (useful in a turbid environment
where vision is reduced) and that would eventually bring us back to your
point about testosterone.
oh well, do we have an ichtyolog on the list who could answer these
questions? Did someone read anything on the subject?
have a good evening

Yvan Alleau
712 NW Kings Blvd
Corvallis, OR 97330
College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences
Oregon State University
office (Burt 222): 737-3649, to be used wisely!
home: 738-0606

PLEASE NOTE NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS:
yalleau@coas.oregonstate.edu

"When you're far from everything, you're getting closer to the essential"


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-apisto@admin.listbox.com
[mailto:owner-apisto@admin.listbox.com]On Behalf Of Mike & Diane Wise
Sent: Sunday, June 02, 2002 10:13 AM
To: apisto@listbox.com
Subject: Re: tank with apistos cacatuoides




Alfredo Figueiredo wrote:

> I'm from Portugal (and..by the way, don't expect to defeat us in the World
Cup
> :).

Alfredo,

I believe you - but is that not the same thing many in France said about
Senegal? ;-)

> The temperature is 26ºC all the time, I feed them frozen adult artemia
> salina (shrimps).

Personally, I prefer a more varied diet. A. cacatuoides is not a choosy fish
when it comes to food.

> The nitrates are very very low, almost undetectable (I'm not sure
excatly).
> The hardness is about 5ºdH

Those values seem acceptable.

> I'm going to take some pictures now of the fishes, I would like to hear
from
> you to decide what to do...add male? add a. agassizi (which is a species I
> love)?

I always worry about inbred fish. Could the more intense colors found in
females
be testosterone related? I'm do not mean artificially induced, but
genetically
bred into the strain. All females produce testosterone. It is just lower
than
the amount of estrogen. In these domestic strains, if testosterone is
related to
the color of the female then perhaps it also affects their fertility. I
don't
know if this is true, but it is something to think about.

Mike Wise

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