so what does a rosequeen consist of?

[RD.]

When it comes to hybrids such as FH, genetics will always come first, and some fish will be sterile due to nothing more than their genetic make up.

With regards to breeders sterilizing their fish to protect their interests, I suspect that this took place much more in the past than it does today.
As previously mentioned, there are no real "secrets" left, but to do it right you need a lot of tanks, a lot of fish, and a lot of time.

Asian breeders have been utilizing steroids in aquaculture long before the first FH arrived on the scene. There are countless Asian breeders who use hormones (such as methyltestosterone) to cause small juvenile fish to gain fully mature adult colors and there are no doubt those that use hormones to interupt the production & release of gonadotrophins in male fish through either immersion, or feeding. These techniques in aquaculture are certainly not trade secrets, in Asia, or anywhere else, anymore than the sex reversal technology that is being used in the ornamental fish trade. The latter is the reason why you will often see entire tanks full of male fish at you LFS, such as Rosy Barbs.

Color sells, and breeders have realized that the more colorful the fish, the higher the $ value, hence they manipulate the fish at an early stage so that ALL of the fish become males. Gonadal steroids such as androgens & estrogens have been used for decades in the fish industry, and sex reversal in FH has also been studied.
http://www.doaj.org/doaj?func=abstract&id=377123

http://kamalau.multiply.com/journal/item/4/Masculinization_of_Flowerhorn_by_Immersion_in_Androgens


A google search on "triploid fish" may help explain things further.

 

[FishingOut]

Id have to disagree with comparing trout to cichlids. This trasformation in evolution occured over millions of years though natural selection. Salmon also have the ability to change sex when numbers are low. This hormonial change still bafels scientists.
There are only a select few cichlids have naturally can change there sex. These fish are african. They turn male for the breeding process than go back to female
Whether fish have been injected to produce more males or the females are just culled is still another mystery breeders wont share. There has obviously been proof of fish being injected with hormones and have silicone injections, but this being an everyday practice I cannot be sure of.
From what I understand, Fish are born herm. Social factors determine the development of sex. Genes arent passed the same way as mammals with defined genes, So there is that possibility of hormone induced sex change in fry. I dont know whether this affects the integrity of the fish, But i can imagine it would effect fertility and and overall natural development..... but breeders would certainly have more product to sell.

 

[RD.]

I wasn't comparing trout to cichlids.
I was simply offering some info regarding what can & is taking place in aquaculture with various hormone treatments.

You said previously that this was all just a theory (sterilizing males) and that it hadn't been proven.

My point was simple, commercial fish farmers have been using hormones on their stock (for various purposes) for decades. It is also widely accepted that treating fish with very high doses of gonadal steroids through immersion or feeding can cause male fish to become sterile.

Does someone here actually expect a breeder to step forward & announce that they use hormones to sterilize their male fish? Seriously .....

As stated previously, I doubt that this takes place nearly as much as it did when FH first arrived on the scene. Lots of people outside of Asia are now successfully breeding many of these hybrid strains.