Anthias changing sex

[MBVette]

I want to put a herum of Barletts Anthias into my tank; my ideal scenario would be 1 male and 3 females. Talking to my LFS, male Bartless's are very hard to come by, so he recommended getting 4 females and letting one just change sex.

So what is the process for the fish changing sex and how long does it normally take? My main concern is that there will be fighting amongst the females to become the dominant one who will change; and within this fighting possibly lose a fish or two. Is this a possibility, or is it usually not a problem?

I cant find any good sites that explain the sex changing process, so any info would be fantastic.

Thanks

 

[PurpleMonster]

looking for the same info here, i found one bartlet at the lfs and looking for more at the moment.

 

[nikon187]

They will fight to determine who is the most dominent in the group. That one usually becomes the male. That being said, most people that buy bartletts end up with all males in the end. After one changes to male they have to keep the others from changing or they too will become male. It happened to the 3 i bought and many others on this forum.

 

[PurpleMonster]

sigh... seems like every fish that my wife and i both like have issues lol... first the lemopeel loves to munch on my purplemonster and now this.

Maybe i will get lucky though....

Thanks for the info bud.

 

[MBVette]

ok so assuming I start with 4-5 females and they all become males down the line. Will they live peacefully, or after the become males they will fight and kill each other.

 

[trwells]

I started with 3 females and now have 2 males and a female. They like to spar occasionally and will end up with shredded fins sometimes, but they tend to heal in a day or two.

 

[jd474]

That being said, most people that buy bartletts end up with all males in the end.

.....pretty much with any Anthias. Our Bartletts are down right brutal towards each other, however, they are very large (all eventually turned male).

 

[NexDog]

Lyretails are very dependable. You can get a group of 5 and one will only change to male.