The Babies Are Here!!!!!

alohami

alohami

Member
I just skimmed back through here and saw you posted a picture of your female, and I know you posted a picture of the male with his mouth full of babies, but would it be too much trouble for you to post a pic of him how he normally looks?
After seeing yours, I think mine is female as well, but I'd love to see a good close up of a male so I could be a little more sure. No hurry though, just whenever it's convenient for you would be great!
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
Hey, maybe if I'm lucky I can get a shot with them side by side. Wouldn't that be a neat trick.
I'm going to play with my camera later on, so I'll see what I can do.
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
Originally Posted by Triggerz92
http:///forum/post/2463873
Congrats! WOW that crayon really shows how small they are!

I know....they are pretty big when they are released from the father's mouth. I was actually shocked that he had about 35 in his mouth. But as you can see they are slow growers.
 
alohami

alohami

Member
Originally Posted by azfishgal
http:///forum/post/2464221
Hey, maybe if I'm lucky I can get a shot with them side by side. Wouldn't that be a neat trick.
I'm going to play with my camera later on, so I'll see what I can do.

That would be totally awesome, but good luck getting them to cooperate!

Anything you can come up with is greatly appreciated!
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
OK, so how about pics of Mom and Pop. And wouldn't you know it, side by side pics!

In this one we have the female to the left. Her mouth comes more to a point than the male, he has more of a square jaw, even looks more "mad" compared to the female. His second top fin is also a little longer.

In this picture the female is in focus. This gives a clear look at her more smoother jaw line. (say "hi" to Dory)

Aloha, I hope this helps. Keep in mind though, it's really hard to tell the difference before they reach sexual materity and that takes up to 10 months. Once the male holds eggs it is a lot easier to tell, as his jaw never really goes back to normal.
 
alohami

alohami

Member
Originally Posted by azfishgal
http:///forum/post/2464420
Aloha, I hope this helps. Keep in mind though, it's really hard to tell the difference before they reach sexual materity and that takes up to 10 months. Once the male holds eggs it is a lot easier to tell, as his jaw never really goes back to normal.
LOL! Kind of our bodies after we have babies!

It does help; thank you very much! It is hard to tell, and I obviously have no idea how old mine is. It'd definitely an adult, but who knows if it's matured fully yet. I'm still going with my hunch that I have a female. I think I might take a picture of her (I'm calling it a her) when I go to the store and compare it to those there. That's probably my best bet.
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
Originally Posted by AlohaMI
http:///forum/post/2464621
LOL! Kind of our bodies after we have babies!

It does help; thank you very much! It is hard to tell, and I obviously have no idea how old mine is. It'd definitely an adult, but who knows if it's matured fully yet. I'm still going with my hunch that I have a female. I think I might take a picture of her (I'm calling it a her) when I go to the store and compare it to those there. That's probably my best bet.
Isn't that the truth.
I'm sure it will be fine. If you start to see the two hanging out together all the time you should be good. They will spend some time apart on other sides of the tank, but that is normal (Hey, we all need a break from each other, right?
). As long as they are not fighting. If they do start to fight then just take one out and try again. Good luck, and let me know how it goes.
 
hefner413

hefner413

Active Member
cool info azfishgal.
just wondering... don't know if you said this yet, but what do you plan to do with all those babies eventually?
if you kept them, would they end up like guppies? just reproducing over and over?
And I wonder if these females are like guppy females - guppy females can gravid 2 - 3 times in a row just from one single mating - they actually supposedly store the sperm.
 
alohami

alohami

Member
Originally Posted by azfishgal
http:///forum/post/2464778
Isn't that the truth.
I'm sure it will be fine. If you start to see the two hanging out together all the time you should be good. They will spend some time apart on other sides of the tank, but that is normal (Hey, we all need a break from each other, right?
). As long as they are not fighting. If they do start to fight then just take one out and try again. Good luck, and let me know how it goes.

I will definitely do that. Thanks so much for all your help! Seeing your success was very inspiring!
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
Originally Posted by Hefner413
http:///forum/post/2465233
cool info azfishgal.
just wondering... don't know if you said this yet, but what do you plan to do with all those babies eventually?
if you kept them, would they end up like guppies? just reproducing over and over?
And I wonder if these females are like guppy females - guppy females can gravid 2 - 3 times in a row just from one single mating - they actually supposedly store the sperm.
I've actually sold all of them already to local reefers. Just waiting until they are old enough and eating frozen foods. Once they reach full sexual materity (around 10 months old) they have to be seperated or the males will fight each other (but my babies will be gone in about two months so I won't have to worry about that). And no, they are not like guppies. But the female can mate with another male soon after because the males are the ones who hold the eggs. The male does need a break though between breedings because they will go 21-25 days without eating due to the fact they are holding the eggs. Luckily for my male they have not bred again, so he's had a nice long break.
 
hefner413

hefner413

Active Member
funny how different humans and animals are. male fish holding eggs in it's mouth for over 3wks, male penguins keeping the eggs warm after they've hatched, etc... some of us dads need to learn lessons from animals.
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
This mom couldn't agree more.
Oh, and for an update. All 16 babies are still doing very well and growing. They are 11 week old now.
 
alohami

alohami

Member
That's awesome! So glad to hear they're still doing well.
Justin, some good pointers for telling them apart are posted in this thread. Check it out from the very beginning, and you'll be sure to find it and lots of other interesting info. AZfishgal also posted some great pics of her pair as an example too.
 
phxfishguy

phxfishguy

Member
Hey, I'm in Peoria and would be interested in taking one of your babies when you are ready to part with them. I have a 150 gallon reef.
 
phelpz

phelpz

Member
If someone decides they no longer want one when theyre ready to go I might want one.
I'm in Mesa, too.
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
PHXFishGuy and phelpz, if anyone backs out I will let you know. I'm releasing them next week to to the new homes, so I should know for sure in two weeks if I have any left.
Update on the little guys: They are 13 weeks old and I still have 16 babies!!!
They are 1" long from nose to tail, but if you just measure the body they are 1/2" long. Oh so cute!!!! They only eat BBS for the afternoon feeding and they are eating Cyclopeez in the morning and evening. I tried some Mysis shrimp tonight and they about came unglued.
I felt a little bad because I thought I had chopped it up small enough, but there were a few that had some rather large pieces sticking out of their mouth. I was a bit worried they might choke or something, but it seems like they eventually got it all down. Now they just have FAT bellies. I'm going to actually smoosh the shrimp next time, because I would feel bad getting them this far only to kill them with stuck food in their throat.
I'll feel better in the morning when I see all 16 still swimming around.
Here are some new pics that I took last week. Even with all the hard work, it's going to be sad to see the little buggers go.


 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
The first four babies left the nest last night. Reports are that they are doing well and eating everything in site.
 
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