Just Had Our First Sex Change Molly :)

[sherylp]

As we have only had swordtails and mollies for 3 or 4 months now, we haven't seen any babies reach sexual maturity age yet to notice the change.

However, we bought 3 female and 1 male molly about a month ago from the pet shop and today I just noticed that one of the females now has a gonopodium, so she is actually a he.

Throws out my male to female ratio a little but I still have 5 females and now 3 males.

As for my swordtails, I have 2 females and 1 male. One female has now had 3 batches of fry over the last 3 months but the other female has never been pregnant and I never see the male chase her. So I'm wondering if this swordtail female may end up being a late maturing male too. Time will tell I guess!

 

[CysticCrab]

thats pretty awesome gratz

 

[fish48]

All Livebearers are born as male or female all fry start out looking like females most male Livebearers develop a gonopodium at the age of 3 months and some Livebearers can take many months to develop a gonopodium.it is well known that some Swordtails can take well over a year to develop, the myths of a sex change in Livebearers originated from the Swordtail , because this fish can take such a long time to mature and develop many people believed there fish changed sex . many new fish keepers now believe that all female Common Livebearers can change sex . female Livebearers do not change sex they are all late developing males.

 

[sheffieldlad]

All Livebearers are born as male or female all fry start out looking like females most male Livebearers develop a gonopodium at the age of 3 months and some Livebearers can take many months to develop a gonopodium.it is well known that some Swordtails can take well over a year to develop, the myths of a sex change in Livebearers originated from the Swordtail , because this fish can take such a long time to mature and develop many people believed there fish changed sex . many new fish keepers now believe that all female Common Livebearers can change sex . female Livebearers do not change sex they are all late developing males.

+1 one of my platies I bought as a female has matured into a male.
It wasnt a case of the LFS not being able to sex them, my own experience wasn't enough to tell me he was a juvenile fish.
I am looking to redress the male/female balance.
A trip to an lfs may be in order

 

[sherylp]

All Livebearers are born as male or female all fry start out looking like females most male Livebearers develop a gonopodium at the age of 3 months and some Livebearers can take many months to develop a gonopodium.it is well known that some Swordtails can take well over a year to develop, the myths of a sex change in Livebearers originated from the Swordtail , because this fish can take such a long time to mature and develop many people believed there fish changed sex . many new fish keepers now believe that all female Common Livebearers can change sex . female Livebearers do not change sex they are all late developing males.

Yes, sorry I worded it all wrong. I do realize the fish develop a gonopodium when they mature but are always that sex. I just hadn't seen one yet changing from juvenile stage to mature stage - I guess that's how I should have worded it.

 

[Biulu]

It is common especially in swordtails, but I just had a recent case in H. bimaculatus as well. I had a 'mature' male and a 'juvenile' male and about 6 females. You should know that in H. bimaculatus it are the females that rule. One morning I found the juvenile male dead in the tank and a young female heavily beaten up. I was afraid that my only male wouldn't make it alive to the friend I am keeping them for, so decided to separate him and the beaten up female from the rest.

And guess what?! The same afternoon already, the 'female' second in rank starts to develop a gonopodium!

I know the phenomenon but would not have expected this in this matriarchical species! It sounds more logical to have it in patriarchical (male dominated) species, don't you think so?

 

[fish48]

Another myth of a sex change in Livebearers

A H. bimaculatus female in the morning and by the afternoon almost becomes a male very unlikely, it's Another late developing male,

 

[Biulu]

That is right, it is a late developing male, probably suppressed due to the dominancy of the other male I had. But as I said, I was surprised to find it in H. bimaculatus as females rule in this species.... It would be more logical to have late developing females.