Amphiprion
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9251886#post9251886 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JHardman
I am not quite ready to put everything on the table yet, but here is one example I have personally observed.
Mature, productive (read actively spawning) male loses female. Is left to his own for >6 months in a effort to insure a sex change has occurred.
The now larger "male" that by all common wisdom should be a female is paired with a 12 month old juvenile from a community tank of ~100 fish. This juvi was picked because it was a tank bully, nicely formed and colored.
No noticeable pairing behavior observed (aggressive/submissive), however the fish acted as paired.
Two weeks after pair, much to my shock there is a small nest in their pot. Once the pair settles down and sees they are not getting fed and go back to their "normal" behavior I expect to see the new small "male" from the community tank tend the nest.
Nope, the "female" is tending the nest. Oh well no big thing, I have had very good nest tending females in the past.
Nest hatches into the tank several days later. I plan to let several go until they get their act together and are producing large nests.
Next night I catch them "rubbing belly" on the pot. WHAT!!! Wait a minute, the "little male" from the community tank has "his" I mean HER ovipositor down laying eggs and the "female" is coming back and doing the classic male fertilization run.
Yep, 7 days later there newly hatched larva in the tank. A productive nest.
The only solid conclusion that can be logically gained from this, is that the would be "female", despite being left isolated in a tank alone for >6 months, that slightly increased in size, did not turn female.
Very interesting. That does tie into why in some pairs, the female isn't necessarily the largest. I have seen that before, but this suggests something more complicated, such as a complete halt of 'transformation' or lack thereof (but why?). I wonder if this sort of thing would happen with any sort of regularity in the wild or if it is just a result of a captive captive life (like many other irregularities that seem to pop up in other things). Keep us updated.