new festae pick up!!

[hailmike]

so i decided to walk around an lfs today out of bordem and found two tanks that were full of festae fry and couldn't pass it up. so i talked to the owner about seeing the parents of the fry which were from two pair and both really good looking but not for sale
i got five that are currently in a ten gallon until i get my pay on monday then i'm going to go out and probably get a 55 to grow them out until they're big enough to throw into a bigger tank. the smallest is probably a quarter inch and the biggest is around half an inch.
but we got to talking while he was trying to get them and i was telling him that i have three other festae but i'm thinking they're all male so he goes on to tell me that it all depends on ph and temp. i've never heard of this before, any one have any thoughts about it? and can anyone give me some tips on caring for these little ones? thanks everyone!

 

[duanes]

Don't know if this effects festae, but a change in pH is know to change the sex ratio of some cichlids in early developement. Temp has also been thought to effect sex ratios too.

 

[JeNiT]

I think that maybe he was saying that the fish you already have wont show their true colors (m/f) unless the pH and temp are ideal. I don't think that Temp or pH are a deciding factor, nor do I think its possible for a Festae to change sex.

There are fish such as clown fish (saltwater) clown fish are all born as males! When they are adults, the largest and the most dominant fish of the group will undergo a sex change, and become a female. The second largest usually becomes the breeding male, while all the other fish remains juveniles and gender-neutral.

It is best to start with a large group and let them pair up themselves.

I could be wrong too!

 

[mbunafishkeeper]

if you can, put them in a 20-30G until 2-3" then stick them in a 55G, they will grow faster that way

 

[hailmike]

i have a thirty gallon but i have a ten inch leopard gecko in it and i figured it wouldn't really be worth cleaning and cycling when i can get a new one next monday. plus i don't want to put him through being in a cramped ten gallon.

 

[orbit]

If you can buy a 55g that soon? The 10g will work no prob. Never heard of a Festae being able to morph its own sex.

 

[hailmike]

see what i'm thinking he meant was that since it's so early in their life that the ph and temp would have a big part in their development..