Greg Hiller
09/24/2006, 08:43 PM
I don't know if this has been documented before. About 8 months ago or so I purchased a pair of Wantanabei angels, a male and a female (Genicanthus watanabei), my wife wanted 'em. For a while everything was fine. There were a couple of days where they stopped eating for some unknown reason, but later they were fine.
They were the only large fish in the tank for a while. Eventually I moved a Sohol tang into the tank, along with a bunch of other fish. The Sohol was the overall dominant fish in the tank. Over time, I started to notice that the male Watanabei was starting to loose his male coloration. First noticable as the stripes on the body were lost. Eventually he looked almost exactly like the female except there was still a tiny difference at the lower edge of his fins. Then, a few days ago I noticed that the male was kind of beaten up. There'd been no agression between the larger fish in the tank for quite some time. I noticed that both the female Watanabei and the Sohol were giving the male a hard time. Then, within about 3-4 days I notice that the female was starting to get the classic male coloration on it's body. In another few days I imagine the transformation will be complete. The male (old male) is still getting food, and the 'beatings' seem to have stopped, so perhaps things will settle down. The 'new' male though is clearly a much stronger fish, really full bodied, almost fat.
Bizzare.
They were the only large fish in the tank for a while. Eventually I moved a Sohol tang into the tank, along with a bunch of other fish. The Sohol was the overall dominant fish in the tank. Over time, I started to notice that the male Watanabei was starting to loose his male coloration. First noticable as the stripes on the body were lost. Eventually he looked almost exactly like the female except there was still a tiny difference at the lower edge of his fins. Then, a few days ago I noticed that the male was kind of beaten up. There'd been no agression between the larger fish in the tank for quite some time. I noticed that both the female Watanabei and the Sohol were giving the male a hard time. Then, within about 3-4 days I notice that the female was starting to get the classic male coloration on it's body. In another few days I imagine the transformation will be complete. The male (old male) is still getting food, and the 'beatings' seem to have stopped, so perhaps things will settle down. The 'new' male though is clearly a much stronger fish, really full bodied, almost fat.
Bizzare.