[FMarini]

Hi
Can I recommend you do a search, this topic is frequently discussed here. Besides the search, I posted this earlier this month

Here is a freebie from an upcomming husbandry article

Generating pairs: it is still possible to generate breeding pairs without knowing the sexes of the fish. finding compatible mates takes time and careful attention, and I have used these approaches below varying degrees of success

Method #1- A group of sub-adults (3 to 5 individuals) are placed together in a communal tank where they develop pair bonds as they mature. Once pairs are formed and move away from the group, the “outsider” fish are removed. It is important to note that any BC seen with dark coloration and cowering in a corner must be removed immediately or it will soon die.

Method #2- Place a fish of unknown sex with a known “sexed” fish. Back in 1995 I had a male banggai who was 100% accurate in sexing. When a new BC was placed in his tank, he did one of two things. A) Try to beat the snot of out him (new fish=male) or mate with it (new fish=female). This technique often requires a bit of time as initially the established known sexed fish will display and present to either sex, but within 30mins the display are over and the fighting or mating starts. What I found useful was a small breeding net with thin mesh webbing, this way the established fish can view the new fish, but not get access to the new fish.

Method #3- purchase two BC’s from an LFS that has a tank full of multiple BC’s and choose the two fish that’s are “hanging out” together, frequently away from the other fish.

My personal choice when obtaining pairs or broodstock is to obtain many young (small) BC and allow them to pair up as they mature. Frequently multiple pairs of BC can be obtained this way.

frank