Keyholes...one spot or two?

[crimsonrain]

I just got two baby keyholes. One has one spot on its sides and the other has two. Does this mean anything? (gender?)Any info would help.Thanks!

 

[Randall]

Cleithracara maronii

Hello Crimsonrain,

This probably means that one of your fish has one spot on its flanks and the other has two. :wink: As the two-spotted one matures, the spots may meld together forming an old fashioned keyhole shape.

Sorry, we can't sex Ceithracara maronii by its spots.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[crimsonrain]

that would be alot easier huh? I was just curious if the spots had any significance. thanks

 

[crimsonrain]

the guy at the lfs said he thinks they are around 2 months old...how long will it take for them to reach thier 3 inch size? they are about 1-1.5 inches right now.

 

[Randall]

Growing up Cleithracara maronii

Hello Crimsonrain,

Eventually, your fish should grow to about 3.5", perhaps even 4". They should double or nearly double in size in six months time and become sexually mature. Growth can be optimized by feeding a good, varied diet and by performing weekly water changes. If you can change about one-third of the water each week, your fish will grow faster and display their best coloration.

C. maronii are difficult for me to sex. Mature males grow a little larger and tend to exhibit longer fin extentions than females. In my case, however, my long finned "male" layed eggs. Due to their lack of sexual dimorphism, its a good idea to get a group of four and allow them to pair off. With a small group, you're pretty much assured at least one male and at least one female.

These are nice fish; enjoy!

All the best,

Randall Kohn

 

[crimsonrain]

i really dont have the room for four adults, so Ill just have to hope mine are opposite, if not...oh well. thanks for your help.

 

[apisto85]

I remember reading something about 1 spot and keyhole shape being different form(one from guiana and the other from the river in brasil)

But i ques thats eighter not true or the fish have been crossed somany times that the captive bred fish might get fry whit eighter of them

 

[crimsonrain]

hmmm. thats interesting. i think the interbreeding idea is more plausible, my keyholes are the same age and came from one breeder, im assumming they are from the same batch. If anything the spots help me tell them apart. Thier names are Uno and Duo...Uno being the one spot, and you got the rest. Pretty clever of me huh? :wink:

 

[apisto85]

yes :roll: I dont now how the fish could look different if they come frim the same breeder
There hasn't been any articles that say much about their coloring since that one in akvaariomaailma.

 

[crimsonrain]

heres a picture of them.

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[apisto85]

Well they are deffinately not from eighter form. Maby they have started making different colorforms of keyholes too

In the keyhole pattern the other dot should be under the other one not infront of it

 

[crimsonrain]

ive seen pictures onlne of several with the two spots like mine. thats very strange. When they show thier stress markings you can see three verticle stripes near the tail, this one just shows his second spot all the time.

 

[Neil]

As far as I know, Keyholes do dot have 2 recognizable species-forms. They do, however, have variability in their markings. The single spot and double spot are present in individuals within groups of all Keyholes that I have seen. I have some right now that have both types. Some of the single spotted fish will develop more of a second spot with age and some will not. The common name, Keyhole, reflects those individual specimens that have a small and large spot forming that shape. If a male and female with 2 perfectly formed spots are bred together, it is still likely that there would be a percentage of offspring that had only one spot. It is part of the genetic make-up of the species.

Neil