Differences between Male/Female C. lineatus?

P

pookstreet

Registered Stick Killer
Can anyone tell, or better yet, show pix of the differences between the male and female C. lineatus? I already have a supermale and would like to pair him up with a female. I would like to know what the female looks like so I can keep my eyes out for one. They don't show up too often but you never know.

Also, if I added a smaller sub-adult male, would it revert back to a female or would it eventually become a dominant male and fight with the other one? They will be housed in the 300. Thanks for any info.
 
Thanks tcmfish. I had already tried that and only saw one pic of a female and it looks a lot like a male to me. Could you link them please? Maybe I am doing it wrong on the search.

Also, anyone know the answer to the second question on the sub-adult male?
 
Ahh.....didn't realize some of those were females. The last one is a good depiction of the two sexes. Thanks!


Now, anyone on the second questions?
 
The answer depends. If you have a harem of females and a terminal male and add a initial phase male, it will not revert and it may find significant aggression. If you add an initial phase male with a supermale, it can revert. But it may not. In a large tank, you can sometimes get away with two males, although probably NOT two supermales (terminal males), and probably not in the presence of females. it is not really deterministic. Also remember the context of my answer comes from experience in largish tanks with a LOT of fairy and flasher wrasses. If it were me, and I had a proven supermale, I would add one or more females.
 
Thanks for the reply, Steve! I currently only have a supermale and would like to add a female if possible. Unfortunately, it appears females are harder to come by. I have seen sub-adult males, or at least I think they are. Or they could just be females and I am told they are males. One thing is for sure, they don't look anything close to the male I have. It's so hard to distinguish when they are not terminal males.

In the 300, I also have a harem (quartet) of Flames. Plans are to add a pair, if possible, of rhomboids in the near future, as soon as I can get my hands on them. There is also a laboutei in the tank.
 
Kenny, females are perceived to be less desirable because of their relative lack of coloration and because they are more aggressive than males. DD on Live Aquaria accurately labels their WYSIWYG wrasses so I would look for females there; not abundant, but more available than anywhere else I can find. Sex determination with phase I fish is always tough; I have screwed up on occasion as well. Your tank is one that appeals to me as it is similar to my SPS tank. By the way, bradleyj has two male rhomboids in his tank with no issues.
 
I understand what you are saying about the undesirability of females. Ideally, I would love to have true male/female pairs b/c I like seeing the interaction between them. So the fact that the female isn't as colorful isn't important to me. I may just try one of the smaller sub-adult males and see what happens. If it doesn't work out, I can always catch it. They seem to be fairly easy to catch since the supermale I currently have feeds from my hand and has wandered into the fish trap that I got set up for other fish :D


BTW, I just checked out your website. Great stuff, Steve! Now that's what I call having a "passion" for something :)
 
My experience with lineatus females was less than desirable. Very aggressive towards fish other than the SM. After 2 years turned male on me and almost killed the SM before I got her/him out. SM still has a scar or two from the battles.

The transition happened within a 2 week period. I noticed the SM start to chase the female away but not full out attack. A week later female had fully turned and all out war ensued...

Same thing happened with my rhomboids but they worked things out after a couple days. They took turns being dominant. Female has turned into the nicest male. Old male reverted slightly. Zero aggression now.
 
Thanks for the info Philwd. Sorry to hear that about the female. It is interesting to hear how the same specie of fish can act differently in different tanks. I guess after all, it's simply not their natural home.

I am still tempted to give it a shot at pairing them up. I keep this thread alive to see what happens then the new one is introduced.
 
There is definitely a lot of variability in what happens which is why I caveat answers according to my particular environment. Rhomboids usually can work things out but others, such as lineatus can be world war III
 
Well, I'll post up a pic of the new one when it arrives and you guys can tell me what you think. I'll also try and get a good pic of the resident lineatus.
 
Well, here it is, the new lineatus.

IMG_4917.jpg


IMG_4921.jpg


And here is the resident male, who has been in the tank for about 4.5 months.

IMG_4859.jpg


IMG_4865.jpg


Right now, the new fish is being kept in a large specimen container in the display. It gives up almost 1.5" to the larger lineatus. So far, no one has paid any attention to the newcomer. I am pretty sure it's a phase 1 male and not a female. So what do you guys think? Should I attempt to put it in the tank or not risk it?
 
Nice fish Kenny. Picked up a nice Hawaiian Flame super male the other day. Looking to add a lineatus and labouti in the future. Keep us posted how things work out.
 
I am pretty sure it's a male based on the coloration alone. Didn't have a chance to measure it before it went into the tank

Saw that one on DD too. I'll just wait and see what happens. It's out and swimming with the other fish as of last night. I still had the specimen container in there and he went back in to hang out a bit. Guess it felt comfortable in there :D


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14924007#post14924007 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MG21
Nice fish Kenny. Picked up a nice Hawaiian Flame super male the other day. Looking to add a lineatus and labouti in the future. Keep us posted how things work out.
Click to expand...

Sounds awesome, Mark. Now you need to find a few females and make it a harem :)
 
nice fish- IME its hard to tell a female from a subdominat male( a supermale is another story). My previous experience with lineatus=aggression.
good luck here's a couple of pics of one of my former residents. Had her/him for 2 years until a tank tear down.
IMG_5543.jpg
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IMG_4462.jpg
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IMG_4456.jpg
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IMG_4114.jpg
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