Hermaphrodite fish?

[martini8]

So I has 3 females and a male swordtail fish, in separate tanks. One of the 3 fish had given birth recently (no babies survived long enough for the mothers to be removed) and since then one of the fish's caudal fin has turned into the form of a males fin. It looked just like this picture previously and the following picture after 1-2 days. It's dorsal fin looks like the females.

(The tail is slightly shorter)

Is it possible that it is a male maturing late or anything like that? It's hard to figure out if it is a male or female but it is with the other male for now. Any help/info is appreciated.

 

[dookie]

Yes females can change into males later in life. It's very common in the fish world lol. The term is called protogyny if you want to learn about it.

 

[1better]

That is pretty crazy. Glbt does exist in nature too huh lol.

I had heard of a female shark, can't recall the species, that was in a zoo with absolutely no males. But she gave birth to a live new shark anyways. They said it occured naturally in the case that there were no males, the female could successfully give "breed" by itself. That was pretty crazy.

Posted on mobile.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[RickyOutlaw]

God blessed these fishes huh ?

 

[MeiTnerium109]

This reminds me of reading about Anthias at a zoo. Since Anthias live in massive groups with a single male leader, the female who happens to be second in command will change sex in the event that anything happens to the alphamale.