possible sex change?

[rendeyxu]

hi anthony
it's rendey from sf, bayarea. i been to ur meeting near palo alto, it's awsome

i used to have 2 flame wrass. one male and one female. don't know if they really pair up ,since 1 month after i got them, after a trip, i find the super male one missing.

and lately that female flame wrass show some more bright yellow color on the bottom of the body, is it possible it's changing sex to male?

thanks

[James56]

I would like to know this to

[Anthony Calfo]

Cheers, rendeyxu

my apologies for the slight delay in reply. I just got back from a trip to Washington state (great club in Seattle - PSMAS... as much fun as SeaBAY :D).

There are many examples of sex change (protandry/protogyny) in marine fishes including the classic wrasse examples. Many other fishes stay strictly gonochoristic (gender determined from birth) but express different coloration (usually for submissive purposes). Some fishes can/will do both of the above.

This last statement speaks to the common observation that aquarists often watch super male wrasses lose their "super" coloration in the confines of undersized home aquariums without the presence of a harem of females.

We haver very nice article on the subject with outstanding photography from Henry Schultz at:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/hcs3/

Please be sure to exhaust the bibliogrpahy of this piece and the others you run down for more information.

fascinating stuff! :)

Anthony

[rendeyxu]

thanks anthony
i looked into that. very informative.

another question.
any common suggestions on keep sea apple or sea slug?

thanks.