That's possible, and the article linked above does suggest that melanism becomes visible later in development. I'm not sure what to think of that, since I have seen the one wild-caught individual from this local population that was visibly melanistic from a very small size (3/8" or a little less). I have tried to save all fry until I thought they were big enough to express the trait, but you bring up a good point. In future I'll make another tub and just segregate them for a couple more months.
Sexual maturity of Gambusia holbrooki
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Guest_gzeiger_*
, Nov 14 2009 05:18 PM
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#22
Guest_gzeiger_*
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Posted 04 December 2009 - 05:31 PM
Now I seem to have a pseudomelanistic female. It only has four little black spots, so I'll be interested to see how it develops, and if it turns out to be male after all. It's more than 3/4" long before I saw any spots.
#23
Guest_jase_*
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Posted 11 January 2010 - 11:26 PM
I had the same situation when I first got my population. I was fairly confident that I had mostly females, but over time it became apparent that there were nearly equal numbers of males and females. At the time I was thinking they may have changed sex, but I'd now guess it's more likely the males just hadn't developed visible gonopodium yet.My problem is that occasionally I've had a "female" fry develop a gonopodium while in the tank. I'm wondering
1) Have I not kept them segregated long enough for development to be visible, or is it possible for them to change gender?
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