RE: Sex change in Apistos???

["Ray McCaleb" <ray.mccaleb@usg.edu>]

I was reading an e-mail thread about this very subject just the other day.
You can find it on "The Krib" at
http://www.thekrib.com/Apisto/sex-change.html .

Ray 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-apisto@v2.listbox.com [mailto:owner-apisto@v2.listbox.com] On
Behalf Of Nuno Prazeres
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 9:50 AM
To: apisto@v2.listbox.com
Subject: Sex change in Apistos???

Hi All,

somebody just shared with me the following:

after a few unsuccesful spawns of a A. cacatuoides couple (the fry was
always eaten by cory cats) the male died. Sooner afterwards the female start
growing and getting more colourful until a stage in which she looked just
like her former mate.

Now, a new trio was just introduced in the tank and the new male just
dominated the goup including the original fish. Giving behavioural issues we
can get to the conclusion the original fish seemed to have turned into a
sexual active male.

I suggested to take out the dominant fish to see if it would be possible to
get a viable fertilized spawn from a coulple whose male was a spawning
female a few months ago. That would be something!

Anyone had such an odd experience?

I read something like this about Dicrossus filamentosus and know apisto's
sex is indeed influenced to a certain extent by external factors but thought
that when the fish's sex is determined it would be for life. The external
influence would be acting to drive the fish from a unsexed situation to a
sexed one and that would be it.

What are the factors that might cause a fish's body to "decide" to change
sex? If this case is indeed such a thing I would say social or ecological
factors would apply just like what happens in the case of the D.
filamentosus.

Take care all

Nuno Prazeres
(Portugal)


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