katmintblue Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 (edited) Hi All! Just a question, not sure if it goes here or not but, seemed like a good place. I was wondering if anyone knows much about Swordtails. We had a batch of them awhile ago & they all appeared to be female. After they were large enough we put them into our daughters 10g in her room. After a couple days one of them sprouted a swordtail & became male. Now we have a new batch of babes that are a few days shy of 1 month. We already have one that is forming a swordtail. Is it possible for these fish to change their sex? It seems weird to me but, I have heard of some species of fish that can do this. Anyways, anyone who can enlighten me I would much appreciate it. I am feeling somewhat confused??? Thanks for help! Kat PS-We will be looking for homes for these munchkins once they are old enough. Edited May 23, 2008 by katmintblue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 They do not change sex, however they can be subdominant and not develop until they are not threatened by the dominant males. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobies et al Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 How old were the fry when you moved them? I don't remember how old my swords were before the males started showing which sex they were. I think at least 6 months. The gonopodium started to be come sharper and the bottom edge of the tail more colored I believe. They could stay at that stage for ages. They may not progress any farther until the dominance/sub dominance issue changes. Males that develop their sexual characteristics early, tend to remain fine and small. Males that develop late, grow bigger and robust. I gave a friend What I thought were 5 female swords about 1 year old, 2 turned out to be male. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 While it is often the case of males not maturing until older or dominant males are removed, they are actually able to change sex. http://www.springerlink.com/content/k655j62744u57m24/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katmintblue Posted May 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 How old were the fry when you moved them? I don't remember how old my swords were before the males started showing which sex they were. I think at least 6 months. The gonopodium started to be come sharper and the bottom edge of the tail more colored I believe. They could stay at that stage for ages. They may not progress any farther until the dominance/sub dominance issue changes. Males that develop their sexual characteristics early, tend to remain fine and small. Males that develop late, grow bigger and robust. I gave a friend What I thought were 5 female swords about 1 year old, 2 turned out to be male. They were going on a year in age. They had been in a smaller tank until a friend of my hubbys gave our daughter his 10g tank. There were only a couple small fish in it so decided to let the young ones swim around. It was shortly after that the one developed it's swordtail. It had shown no signs of one before. He had also only been in a baby tank with his remaining siblings. The one now is not quite a month old & is already sprouting a swordtail. Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it! So far 1 male & 6 girls. The male from the earlier batch is about the same size a s his dad though much different coloring. Dad is more white bodied with an orange tail, the younger one is all orange. The new babe has no color as of yet, though some of the girls are getting some black marks on the end of their tails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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