Re: D.maculatus

[Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com>]

Gary,

I'm not surprised. It seems that Ohm's results on sex change in C. punctulatum has not
been verified by later studies attempting to replicate his own. Some researchers have
observed sex changes while most have not. As Randy said you can only prove sex change has
occurred if you see a female lay eggs and raise fry. Then later the same fish must
fertilize another fish's eggs and they must be viable. If this doesn't occur then your
"female-turned-male" is probably a genetic male who retained its juvenile (similar to
female) features to avoid conflicts with territorial males. After reading the referenced
article, I must agree with Randy statement. It appears to be a case of the latter. This
doesn't mean that it can't happen. Koslowski had a female Wangenflecken Apisto raise
several broods, then change to a male and then fertilize a viable clutch of eggs. Not all
Wangenflecken do this. This is an exception - just like Ginny Eckstein's "mated pair" of
Caquetia splendida. It was the only fish in a tank and it laid, fertilized, and raised a
batch of fry by itself! Mother Nature can pull some tricks on us.

Mike Wise

Frauley/Elson wrote:

> When I kept punctulatum, i started with four young females and finished
> with four old females...
> Gary
>
> Randy & Deb Carey wrote:
> >
> > I agree with you, Mike.  I don't think the fish change sex, but I think some males
> > (in crowded conditions) defer the more noticable male marking when there are
> > dominant males present.  Thus pulling a dominant male seems to give these "hidden"
> > males the "incentive" to fill out their male appearance.  And I'm not even saying
> > that the "hidden" males are indistinguishable from the females, just that they look
> > more like the females than they look like the dominant males.
> >
> > There was a time that I had 9 wild-caught females and lost my only male.  Noine of
> > the females developed into males.  I had to buy more maculatus before I got a male.
> >
> > --Randy
>
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