Wow, that’s pretty bad odds. Currently, I have been buying all male adults so I know for sure they are male but it’s really really expensive. I am paying anyway from $50 to $100 per fish.Looks like lots of good info here in this thread,
Only going to share my experience. I ordered 24 Africans - 2 species -
One was 10m / 2 f - total random pick of Juvinile
I’m not even sure about the other group... I’ve recently separated the two species...
That group of 12 may sadly be a similar ratio... 11m / 1 f ....
I’d order designated m/f fish if you can, I know it costs more but...
Next time I put together a colony I’ll order specific m/f to get the proper ratios...
GL! And pics when you get em!
I was hoping I can save with juvenile since both male and female would work as long as the ratio is not that extreme but I really didn’t think the odds are that bad. I was thinking buy 4 juveniles each species, end up with 1m/3f perfect, 2m/2f I can work with. Guess I was being way too optimistic.
Buying specific m/f might be too costly for me plus not that easy to find. Will have to think about it. I still have time since I have to get the tanks and set them up, with all these social distancing, might take some time.
There is a online retailer that sells m/f with M garauntee and will do their best to get 1m/3f ratio when ordering juvenile from them. The only thing is with large Haps, I know it’s even hard to vent when it’s around 3 inch, not sure how they can garauntee when the fish they sell are 1.5 - 2 inch. Not sure if I should give them a shot.