sex changing foods

Evan McKay · February 4th, 2009

ihave reasintly heard that some food can change your young cichlids to males is this tru and what foods do you know of that do this

Amanda · February 4th, 2009

I have never heard of such a thing. The only FW species of fish that I know that will "change" gender are old female swordtails. And even that's not a true change, just an identity crisis.

Mike19 · February 4th, 2009

First time i have heard of it, i don't think its possible unless scientists genetically injected the cichlid with something.

Evan McKay · February 4th, 2009

watch this video at around 7 20 he talks about these foods http://www.youtube.com/user/cichliddvd

Amanda · February 4th, 2009

No video...

mathas · February 4th, 2009

I've seen references to fish that were fed with testosterone-enhanced food in order to bring out coloration, and that certain species of cichlids may be influenced enough as fry to actually change sex. A quick Google search returned the following, among others:

Quote:

Hormones may be used to enhance fish coloration by causing a false early maturity. Testosterone supplied in the diet likely allows a premature storage and expression of pigments in the chromatophores. Fish that often exhibit drab juvenile coloration may then show full adult coloration. Fish treated with hormones often become all male, sterile, and require a continuous dietary supply of hormones to maintain coloration. The sex of juvenile fish is often ambiguous and hormone diets, most often containing testosterone, create all male fish. Uncontrolled doses of testosterone sterilize fish. Endogenous production of hormones ceases, so coloration is not maintained when fish are taken off the hormone treated feed.

http://www.bigskycichlids.com/coloration_article.htm

Quote:

Sex reversal in C. nigrofasciatum demonstrated that TT-treated 0-day-old larvae showed successful sex reversal

http://www.springerlink.com/content/ku428p6p77g0302m/

Quote:

Gonadally undifferentiated Tilapia nilotica fry were fed with methyl testosterone at the dosage of 50 mg/kg of dry diet. The fry used in the investigation belonged to two age groups with a mean total length of 10 mm and 13.5 mm. Treatment lasted for a minimum of four weeks and a maximum of six weeks. 100% males were obtained in all the various groups under androgen treatment.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/85745t522387tn8p/

The chances of finding testosterone-enhanced food readily available for purchase are pretty slim, though.

Amanda · February 4th, 2009

That doesn't sound healthy or natural.
In fact, that sounds kinda cruel.

Angela_96 · February 4th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evan McKay

ihave reasintly heard that some food can change your young cichlids to males is this tru and what foods do you know of that do this

All that will do is mess up the breeding ablity of the fish. There is no way to change the sex of cichilds. Now if you got 2 clownfish in a SW tank, you can control that. One grows up female the other stays male.

In the earliest stages of a frys life a cichilds sex is determined. I can tell w/ my polits, afra, labs both yellow and hongi, kenyi have behavioral patterns...

Thanks Mathas I see that I naturally picked up on the spawning abilty being shot to peices making the males sterile.

If something like that worked and was out on the market why wouldn't they have it avalible for humans? I mean really, someone that is pregnant like me and the stage of pregnancy I am in is when the x's and the y's decide the sex of the baby. Say that I have 2 boys and I wanted to make sure this one was a girl...
That abiltiy would mean so much money for some company, but because of ethics, morals, inabilty to know what will happen to the child in their child bearing age we don't have that out.

I would hate to think I gave something to any creature that took its abilty to reproduce away, fish or human. (Now that does not mean that my cats/dogs are not spayed because they are, and I am getting my tubes tied after I have this 3rd child) I would not hormonally supplement or geneticly alter any creature.

Hormones given to humans have bad effects, with men body building it makes them far more aggressive, testicular issues, kidney issues, and so on. I know because I did date 2 steroid freaks (as I like to call them because in no way did they act like decent human beings, its always fun to be driving down town and one flip out because someone rivved their engine up, he thought it was race time and just about killed us) Luckily my husband never did or will do that to his body.

With women who have had their ovaries removed (hysterectomy) have awlful swings in their moods, heat issues, breast cancer, and so on.

TMI but when I was on one type of birth control it caused me to lactate. Needless to say I stopped that pill really fast!

CHoffman · February 4th, 2009

That's wild..I have never heard that...Not something I would be willing to try.

Evan McKay · February 5th, 2009

me either thats why i wanted to know what foods do this so i can avoid them

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