Helpppppp!

[wallywestisthebest333]

I like Adastra's suggested shrimp method. It sounds like the easiest option and therefore the best for your aunt whom I assume (I could be wrong) is new to fish keeping. =]

What kind of fish are you putting in? =] also how's designing the tank going?

[carpenter547]

sorry but mollies can't change sex period they can be told apart by looking at the gymnopodium just watch them if in doubt the male will have larger dorsal fin and will always be mating with the ladies.

what does happen is that mollies get pregnant stay pregnant for up to 4 months give birth to males males survive unnoticed or are not removed before reaching maturity and then knock up a female.

mollies and playties are androgenous until sexual *teehee hee i said sexual* matureity. just like in people how little boys and little girls can be mistaken at a casual glance. any way that is the most likely cause of your experiance.

here is some referances to support my claim:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Freshwate...es-keeping.htm mollies weren't listed in the list that does and latter a plausible theory as to how rumors and mistakes on sexing fry occur.

http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=swordtail swordtail info page lotsa info again rebutts the gender change and shows human error.

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/l...e-molly-42401/ another one for your perusal.

the reason i gave sources is i have been accused of making up or not having facts in previous debates.

a tank filled with female mollies and playties *playties would be best since mollies are brackish for optimum health* will not breed. buy them for you aunt qt them to make sure no seminal contamination has occured. and put them in the tank. then latter if you decide to breed to replace numbers just introduce a male on loan from a firend for a couple of days and then remove him.

[Chicklet]

I guess all us old experienced fishy folks don't know what we've talking about.

Alot of folks knows Mollies and Swordtails do in fact change sex.
Some of us with as high as 30 yrs experience with these guys :)

But your free to think whatever you like. :)

[carpenter547]

again and for the last time show me proof some where other than a strangers word on the internet that it happens. since you made the statement that goes against the established norm you should provide some proof.

i am not at all attempting to disbelieve your experiance or to imply that you are not good with your fish. heck my father in law is a 45 year veteran of carpentry however he still makes the occasional mistake it happens.

so again i state and this is my last post on this in this thread i promise "show me clinical data on the subject not just *it happened to me cuz i said so* and it will be proven" show it not and it is not proven.

*tips hat*

[Chicklet]

I'm not here to argue with you,

What I know is from experience and from others like myself that have actually seen the results of ADULT Fish change sex.,, not written words that just anyone can create and published.

Personally I'd rather get advice from someone who has the experience then someone who sends me of with links.

Just decided to click a few of your posted links,
I'm not talking about young fish here, I'm talking about well established adults that produced young, That changed to Males!

Maybe you should read your links and get a clearer picture.

[Ajones108]

Here is some background information for everyone.

My aunt will be caring for this fish tank. It's my job to set it up, and teach her how to properly siphon the tank, feed the fish, and administer water conditioner. If the fish get sick, I will be caring for them. I am definitely going to go with the fishless cycle with shrimp as Adastra suggested, but to "seed" the tank with bacteria I will be picking up Tetra Safe Start. I'm also going to pick up a heater to help with bacterial growth, and when I make this drive again next weekend, I'm bringing my testing kit to test the water myself.

Fish won't be going in quite this weekend, since there's a heavy debate on this...

Chicklet, I understand that you are incredibly experienced with your fish keeping and the fish that you keep. :)

My aunt is looking for a decorative, easy to maintain tank with lots of colorful fish. A sorority would be too much for her to handle I think, since you have to really watch betta females. She IS new to fish-keeping for the most part, but she has a 1-gallon filtered mini bow on the kitchen counter with 3 tiger barbs in it who seem very healthy. Although, I cleaned the tank the last time I was here because she had an algae bloom so bad that the filter was clogged. But they're alive and kicking even in the small thing.

The fish dictionary I have in my head is really obtained from users here who talk about what they stock in their sororities. I figure, if these breeds get along together with female bettas, they'll get along together without them. I love the colors of platys and mollies but when I learned they were both live-bearers I was sad because my aunt can't just isolate the female/pay attention, etc. My dad said he learned by experience that mollies changed gender and the babies were so bad they got all in the filter and it was just one big mess.

If anyone has any ideas of colorful fish that can school together and get along with other types that are relatively hardy and easy to care for, please say here. :) Since this tank is getting cycled fishless, we have a bit more options now. I'd love to put a sorority into this huge tank but... I don't think she could handle it.

But my dad's tank up in Jacksonville... He he... That one might just be a sorority... >.>

carpenter - To be honest, I will be more likely to go with the opinions of those who have more experience in fish keeping, who have proof they are experienced, not just throwing out links to prove a point.

Adastra - You're my unsung hero. I died laughing when you said what you did. *high five*

Wally - It is going to have lots of plants for sure. I love natural-looking tanks. Granted the blue-mix gravel in this tank is anything but natural but plants are definitely on my agenda. When we get to PetSmart on Sunday I'm sure dad will want to go extravagant. Pictures will come here. :p

[dramaqueen]

Yet another arguement on the forum. "sigh" Just more work for us mods to do, what with editing rude posts and sending out pm's...

[Ajones108]

I started cycling the tank with 3 raw large shrimp and Stabilize yesterday.

[Adastra]

Keep us updated! Leaning toward any livestock in particular?

And by the way--nothing I've read indicated to me that mollies and swordtails could change sex before. I've had guppies, so it did not make sense to me that a species with some sexual dimorphic traits like a modified anal fin would spontaneously change sex. I've never had other livebearers before, so I suppose it wasn't the best thing to just assume. I am curious, though, as to how you discovered that they did this and what triggers it to happen.

[Posaune]

Well, I have some experience with zebra danios. The only time they breed is when the water is low (believe me, I had them in both set ups, a low water one with a fiddler crab and they bred non stop, and a fully filled tank where they didn't breed at all). So if the only reason you wouldn't want zebra danios is the breeding, don't worry about it and keep the tank filled. Even if they do breed, the parents will probably end up eating the young (as what happened in mine, the young only lived when the parents ended up dying)

As far as fish changing sex, I though I read somewhere that there are species that can do that when no male is present (though I'm not sure if they can reproduce, I think they just take on the other characteristics of the male). And I know for sure that some invertebrates can do that.