Male ratio

[Matuva]

I saw males dancing around in my red cherries tank today. Probably time for some female to be pregnant.

 

Though, it seems there's a lot of male, I would say about 1 male for 4~4 females. Is this too much? Should I take some out, or just leave things as is?

[fishmosy]

I assume you mean, 4 males for every 1 female.

The number of males shouldn't be a problem unless:

- the ratio of males to females is huge (e.g. 10 males to 1 female) as male competition for the female could lead to her being hurt. Females are fertile just after they have moulted, and are therefore fragile. In the confines of an aquarium, its probably not easy to escape from a pack of eager males.

- you are concerned about selective breeding. If there is that number of males in the tank, then it is time to cull until you have selected only the best males. How many males you need will depend on how seriously you are being about breeding a particular trait. That said, its best to have more than one male as a single male could be infertile, and then you are stuck. Regardless, culling males (and females) should skew your sex ratio to 1:1 or 2 or more females per male.

[Matuva]

OK, thanks. I think I will leave things as is for now

 

At first sight, the ratio is 1 male 3~4 females, so it should be just fine. I had the good surprise to see 2 of my young F1 females berried ;) They are less than 3 months old. Gees, better than rabbits 

First goal is to establish well the colony, then I will start another tank for selective breeding

Edited March 31, 2015 by Matuva