Need saulosi advice

[scifisarah]

So I have purchased quite a few Ps. Saulosi and am having a horrible time ending up with all males. First I purchased I think 5 young fish. One of them turned out to be a female, and the rest developed male coloring. Then I purchased 5 more little yellow fry from someone who bred them, and it looks like all 5 of them are now turning to male colors. The faintest one still looks somewhat yellowish, but has faint barring and pale purple sides. Oh, and a few months ago my one female died. She didn't seem to get harassed by the males, just started swimming near the bottom and was dead the next morning. I also had one male die over the past year. Could someone tell me what the deal is - do I have horrible luck, or do I have confused females? Are these fish ones that will have offspring that is all male/female depending on the water temp? I am surprised all the boys are getting along so well still, but this was not what I had planned when I got them originally! So, anyone have some female saulosi? 

[Ron]

Sounds like bad luck to me. 

While it's not always the case, from a particular spawn, the males tend to get larger quicker. If you're picking all the of the largest, best looking fish out from a tank of 1"-1.5" juveniles, you might be doing yourself a disservice. I had that problem for a while when I first started keeping mbuna.

[scifisarah]

Sounds like bad luck to me. 

While it's not always the case, from a particular spawn, the males tend to get larger quicker. If you're picking all the of the largest, best looking fish out from a tank of 1"-1.5" juveniles, you might be doing yourself a disservice. I had that problem for a while when I first started keeping mbuna.

Nope, not picking out of a tank. The first group was in a bag that I bought at a sale, actually I think I got 7 then because I sold two changed males at an auction last year. And the second group of 5 was locally from a breeder and I bought all of what he had, they were all quite small. I will keep in mind to pick the smaller fish if I happen to find juveniles at a fish store. If they are showing pale lavender on their sides, are they definitely going to be males at that point? I am missing all the pretty yellow from my tank.

[Saulosi77]

i'm thinking just bad luck.  I find that saulosi are naturally a heavy male producer with each spawn.  A lot of my thought to be females turned out to be males.  All the salousi I've kept have been very peaceful fish.  As to why you lost a couple could have been the lone female being picked on by all the males.  Also dominate males can be territorial.  When the fish start showing blue and very faint barring you can tell they're a male.  Look for faint egg spots as well.

[Dan K]

I have found them to be very male heavy as well.
I currently have a young breeding group with 5 females and have about 40+ new fry with another female holding as of today. I should have juvies available this summer and hopefully sexed ones also then but for sure by the GVAC fall auction if you can hold on that long 

[scifisarah]

I have found them to be very male heavy as well.
I currently have a young breeding group with 5 females and have about 40+ new fry with another female holding as of today. I should have juvies available this summer and hopefully sexed ones also then but for sure by the GVAC fall auction if you can hold on that long 

That would be wonderful actually. I have so many things going on that I don't think I will be making any long drives to pick up fish from around the state. I will plan on selling all but two of my extra males next month at the GVAC auction, and then seeing if there are any females of fry there (probably not likely) or else I will wait until Fall and check in with you. I do really want to continue with them since they are so beautiful and get along well with everyone else in the tank.

[Super Turtleman]

Yep, male heavy spawns.

[Bremmon]

I have read that slightly cooler than normal water temperature will increase the number of females in many cichlids. Obviously don't go crazy, but 1 or 2 degrees maybe? 

[Super Turtleman]

Never heard of that in relation to Saulosi.

[Bremmon]

There are also several articles that suggest that PH will also effect sex ratio in African Cichlids as well... Several of the articles I have read suggest that PH of 7.7-8.0 produce more females at a 3 to1 ratio, while 8.1-8.4 will yield males. Same with many species and water temperature less than 79 degrees produces more females while 80+ increases the amount of male spawn. Temperature also has a huge impact on egg and fry development.

I'm curious what are your current tank parameters?

[scifisarah]

There are also several articles that suggest that PH will also effect sex ratio in African Cichlids as well... Several of the articles I have read suggest that PH of 7.7-8.0 produce more females at a 3 to1 ratio, while 8.1-8.4 will yield males. Same with many species and water temperature less than 79 degrees produces more females while 80+ increases the amount of male spawn. Temperature also has a huge impact on egg and fry development.

I'm curious what are your current tank parameters?

My tank is 77 degrees, pH 8.2, but the sex of the fish would be determined in the tank of whoever I purchase them from, since they didn't spawn here. I am down to three males and one female after the GVAC auction today, so hopefully the males will chill out. Is that pH and temp okay for the fry and eggs?

[scifisarah]

I have found them to be very male heavy as well.
I currently have a young breeding group with 5 females and have about 40+ new fry with another female holding as of today. I should have juvies available this summer and hopefully sexed ones also then but for sure by the GVAC fall auction if you can hold on that long 

I think the pair I picked up this morning was from you Dan. The female just glows compared to the rest of my tank. Very happy with them. My five year old daughter keeps telling me how much she likes our new pretty girl fish. I would be very interested when you have any other females available.

[Dan K]

Yes you did get my pair. I am getting so many spawns that I decided to cut my group back a bit. I think I have about 100 fry now. Largest are about 1/2 inch. I will let you know when I am going to sell.