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Wishing to try a new species, I went along to Derby for the B.L.A. auction. I was hoping to buy some Phallichthys species and, despite missing half the auction due to M-way probs, I was fortunate enough to buy a pair of Phallichthys fairweatheri in a later Lot. Certainly got a nice size female (appr.3 cms) while the male was around 2.5cms. I put them in a well planted 24" tank and gave them a little treat of daphnia from my pond as a "settler-in". During the week I fed them Spirulina flake, some frozen bloodworm and black mosquito larva. The female was quite rounded when I bought the pair and just 12 days later she had dropped her fry. These were quite dark bodied, a slim shape and about 0.5 cm long. I counted at least 10 fry moving between the plants. I gave them microworm mainly, which they fed readily on. I also put in some Spirulina flake crushed into a fine powder. The parents moved towards them but never made a grab, but the fry in any case have an incredibly quick "dart away" movement! Even at 12 days old the fry were clearly showing an attractive sharp black edge to the anal and dorsal fins. They were certainly not enthusiastic feeders on the powdered Spirulina as it floated down, preferring instead to feed on food which had settled on the base of the tank. By the time the fish were 2 months old, they were around 1.25cms and feeding on flake, frozen Bloodworm and Black Mosquito larva. I hadn't spotted any losses and I counted 10 fish . As they grew on certain other colours began to show. There was a small turquoise/green line part way along the lateral line area and the dorsal and anal fins had a tinge of yellow. Also 3 darker vertical lines showed on the area between the dorsal and the anal fin. As yet, at 5 months old there was no sign of the male's gonopodium although the females are meant to have some mottling round the genital area. By this age the fish are around 3 cms.  At 7 months, one fish seemed to physically develop quite quickly and its gonopodium was plain to see. In a relatively short time the gonopodium was reaching the caudal peduncle. The bad news now was that the other fish were all clearly females, meaning I had a poor ratio of 9 females and only one male.  At this point the male was the sole male but certainly not (as I expected) a "dominant" male, as the females had no hesitation in driving him off! His early intentions were being constantly rebuffed by the slightly larger females. The females were also quite aggressive towards each other, really sparring and tupping each other which caused them to colour up much more. The yellow tone of anal and dorsal becoming much stronger.  Despite seemingly losing out in his courtship attempts, the remaining 3 females were looking slightly plumper. Obviously a much better ratio now, as I had very fortunately sold 6 females (to fishkeepers who clearly had contacts to buy males from). They were now 10 months old and the "exchanges" were now becoming quite physical with the male seemingly getting the worst of it! During these attacks, he (surprisingly) turns slightly on his side and "dithers" in a submissive manner during which both fish go much darker. In the male's case, the three dark vertical lines between the anal and dorsal fins are replaced by a more solid blob. Summary .... It's always difficult when the sex ratios of fry work out badly. It usually means chasing up distant fishkeeper friends, meeting at an auction and doing swaps.(Which is what I had to do with Chacodon lateralis where 70% were males.) Obviously, the rarer the fish, the more difficult this task becomes. With a reasonable ratio, (preferably more females), we can easily swap/sell as trios. However I never did find out if my three remaining females would give me the same awkward, skewed sex ratio because a keen livebearer friend wanted my last four as a breeding group. (Yes, I took the easy option!) In Baensch Vol 2, it is interesting to note that under the info for Phallichthys amates pittieri, only 1 male is born for every 10 females. If that stat is an approx standard ratio (?) then my drop for fairweatheri conformed to the "norm" and perhaps by selling my last four fish, I was spared the inconvenience of even more touting around for swaps? I know many articles have been written about P.H. and temperature affecting sex ratios in various species. In my case, I don't "fuss and measure"!- I find with regular water changes my PH is at least Neutral and above, and my fish seem happy! This Phallichthys' fry skewed sex ratio is further confirmed in an article by livebearer expert and enthusiast Dave Macallister ("Livebearer News" Issue 13). Over the last 10 years Dave has bred and built up a good stock of Phallichthys tico. However it was only when he was sorting through around 60 fish for auction that he realised he only had 5 females. Same theme but different species ....... Dave also suffered the worst scenario of all with an extreme 100% skewed ratio of Priapichthys annectens, where two consecutive broods were all males. That's when you really need your fishkeeper contacts! Dave's tip;- especially with smaller species, don't just assume you are doing well because of a thriving tankful of fish. Every so often, thin out the plants etc, catch as many as you can and check the sexes! Another livebearer to consistently give similar problems is Xiphophorus mayae (PMH) where everyone who has bred this attractive swordtail has only got male fry. So unless someone has recently found a solution to this problem, perhaps via water parameters, it certainly makes maintenance of this species a near impossible task! Qu. Is it a trait of all Phallichthys species to have extremes of skewed sex ratios? Returning to my Phall. fairweatheri, on the plus side, even from the fry stage onwards they are a very attractive species to keep and a tank of adults with their subtle colours is a pleasing sight. Copyright; Text and photos, Ivor Hilton. |
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