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Sneaker male => dominant male ?

Started by Guest_Nearctic_* , Apr 03 2014 11:11 AM

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9 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Nearctic_*

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Posted 03 April 2014 - 11:11 AM

I have two male Dollar Sunfish in a 70 gallon with 3 females.

At first, there were 4 males; the two dominant fish colored up fully. Those two were removed from the tank ( partially to give the females a better chance to fatten up.)

After three weeks, the remaining males still show very weak male coloration.

Does anyone know if sneaker male sunfish sometimes get stuck in the sneaker mode?

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#2 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 03 April 2014 - 11:54 AM

Try doing some water changes. It could be there are hormones in the water (which are very powerful at very low concentrations) that are repressing them from coloring up. If so, water changes would dilute them.

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#3 Guest_centrarchid_*

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Posted 04 April 2014 - 10:40 AM

You are not doing anything to test if they are sneakers. With dollars I have breed in a colony setting, sneakers like with northern bluegill and some longear were not evident. Cuckoldry still occurred where pumped up males would simply swim through nest with mating pair blasting their candy into mix.

If testosterone low, then color could be blanched.

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#4 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 04 April 2014 - 11:21 AM

I doubt they get "stucK" in subordinate-male condition, unless maybe they are old fish that have been stunted by confinement with a dominant male for years, and testosterone is low from old age and lack of use. Probably they just need more time and good food (earthworms, shrimp, crickets, fly grubs) to bring out their full potential.

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#5 Guest_Nearctic_*

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Posted 22 April 2014 - 09:41 PM

Thanks.

90% water change.

Feeding earthworms.

Discovered the heater was broken. 67F

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#6 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 22 April 2014 - 10:50 PM

Woah, by water changes I meant sequential one quarter water changes. Ninety percent water changes can shock fish.

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#7 Guest_centrarchid_*

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Posted 23 April 2014 - 08:44 AM

When doing batch changes, maximum for me with aged water is 25%. That can be repeated on daily basis. If practical, the continuous drip is best.

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#8 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 23 April 2014 - 09:56 AM

When doing batch changes, maximum for me with aged water is 25%. That can be repeated on daily basis.

Yes, +1

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#9 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 24 April 2014 - 08:09 PM

I like small frequent water changes as well, but have never seen any issues when giving that one long overdue BIG water change. I think most native fish are resilient enough to bounce back from this stress. We are talking about temperate fish, where the stream temperature and water parameters can vary greatly. Cold weather, hot weather, floods, etc. They are some tough fish. Unless you are doing research, I don't see a need to be too stringent as a hobbyist.