With the success of you guys actually locating a previously unattainable Whitecap Goby (two, in fact), upon the request of a hobbyist, I thought I'd throw out my own request for a pair of Genicanthus semifasciatus...or two females...or, well, anything really. I realize the availability of these fish has always been spotty but it has REALLY been a long time since the last sighting in these parts. Does anyone have any leads, short of my having to travel to Japan? Thanks in advance.
Japanese Swallowtail Availability
- Thread starter 64Ivy
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LemonLemon
New member
this is not an extremely rare or unobtainable fish. it's just very uncommon, and it seems to be getting more uncommon lately.
I'm from Singapore and females are rather common here. appearing very frequenty. it's the males that are rare and the last time i've seen them was a year ago.
I'm from Singapore and females are rather common here. appearing very frequenty. it's the males that are rare and the last time i've seen them was a year ago.
LemonLemon
New member
lamarck and melanospilos are the most common in my country. females can appear in shipments with numbers up to 15 or 20. males often accompany them.
bellus are slightly rarer, but still very easily obtainable.
semifasciatus and watanabei are the rarer ones. only females seem to be readily available. occasionally imported via phillipine shipments in numbers up to 8. but the males just never make it here... the last time i saw a male semifasciatus was last year. thinking of getting 2 females and let 1 morph...
caudovitattus are just unseen here. never seen one period.
bellus are slightly rarer, but still very easily obtainable.
semifasciatus and watanabei are the rarer ones. only females seem to be readily available. occasionally imported via phillipine shipments in numbers up to 8. but the males just never make it here... the last time i saw a male semifasciatus was last year. thinking of getting 2 females and let 1 morph...
caudovitattus are just unseen here. never seen one period.
xxtriggermanxx
New member
i just got two females from my local........ok i got them at petco! but for 84 bucks for both i couldn't pass them up
Iwishihadgills
New member
Very cool fish.
reef hot spot has them
reef hot spot has them
LemonLemon
New member
will take a few months... but do note the transformation may not be complete, or if completed, may not be as spectacular as one from the wild.
i've also seen beautiful wild terminal male watanabeis that revert to female, despite being kept with multiple females. only seen this once though.
i've also seen beautiful wild terminal male watanabeis that revert to female, despite being kept with multiple females. only seen this once though.
jmaneyapanda
Commencing hatred
IMO and IME, the female Genicanthus are FAR more nasty and aggressive than the males. I wouldnt necessarily count on one of the females "turning", just as males may not always exhibit male coloration.
29reef
It's all about the flow
Agreed, the geni is not an anthias. They do sometimes turn male but it's not always the case. With your size aquarium I see no reasion why they won't mature. You've got better chances then most. It really depends on how big they come in at and if they were both collected at the same time. Hope it all works out. Keep us updated!
BlueFaceAngel
New member
I actually just picked up a Japanese Swallow tail Female / male pair from my Local fish store in charlotte. Paid 50 for each. They actually have them pretty regularly
Okay, yet another question then: Should I continue my quest to find a male or just let it be? The two females will be in QT for a bit and could be there as long as it takes...up to a point, of course.
And jmaneyapanda, by 'nasty and aggresive', do you mean toward each other or their tankmates?
And jmaneyapanda, by 'nasty and aggresive', do you mean toward each other or their tankmates?
jmaneyapanda
Commencing hatred
Towards each other. I had a trio of caudovitattus and a trio of bellus, and the females were terrors on each other. They left the males alone, and the males were not aggressive to the females (although they did keep them in line), but the females would kick the hell out of each other. I would watch for that.
stunreefer
Reef Hugger
Cat fight - always gunnin' for the stud :smokin:
jmaneyapanda
Commencing hatred
Story of my life.
Looks like the quest is not over then. The two females are due in next Tuesday. Since my QT is only a 20g, it seems like it'll become little more than an 'octagon' for them. So maybe I'll just sell one off , keep the other, then continue my search for a male while she cools her heels. How's that sound?
jmaneyapanda
Commencing hatred
That is just absurd. Shipping from Japan is more than that. Are you sure theyre semifasciatus?
I have two females in my 210g and they both came from the same store at the same time. They are 90% of the time in harmony but the larger one will chase the smaller in a all out full tank chase once in awhile. If it starts to get worse I most likely will remove the smaller one. A store here gets them in fairly frequently but its one of the few that gets them in fat and healthy from what I have seen. The other stores are usually smaller and cost more when they do get them less frequently. Its a nice looking fish and why I opted for two 
But in the 5 mths I have had them neither has started to " Change"
But in the 5 mths I have had them neither has started to " Change"Similar threads
