Male to female ratios in nature....

[Mmathis]

Maybe some of you who breed koi or goldfish can chime in, but I was wondering what kind of gender ratio you would normally find in nature -- that is, if we weren't culling and/or selecting for gender.

I look at my goldfish.....30+ fish. I have no idea whether I have males or females, and I've never witnessed a spawning, but I still get baby fish. Well, to say I don't know what they are isn't exactly true as I'm pretty sure I have one Ryunkin-type that is a female, but other than that, they're just all FISH in the pond. I can't tell anything from their shapes, either, as they all look the same [except this one Ryunkin]. But surely, out of 30+ fish, she isn't the only female.

So, I was just curious.....

 

[bettasngoldfish]

This article about sexing goldfish may be helpful to you: http://thegab.org/Articles/SexingGoldfish.html it was written by some old goldfish forum friends.

Males will get what they call breeding stars on their gill covers and the leading ray of their pectoral fins. Makes it real easy to tell once you see those little bumps.

 

[Mmathis]

Thanks, @bettasngoldfish, but what I was more curious about was the natural ratio of males to females. But next time I suspect spawning, I will look for breeding stars (hope they're not too hard to see on a goldie....koi are probably more obvious).

 

[addy1]

I watch them chase all the time, a few times caught the spawning frenzy. I have see the bumps on the fish off and on, which is males, but only on the bigger fish. The small ones it is hard to see.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Thanks, @bettasngoldfish, but what I was more curious about was the natural ratio of males to females. But next time I suspect spawning, I will look for breeding stars (hope they're not too hard to see on a goldie....koi are probably more obvious).

Yea sorry Maggie, I don't know the answer to your question I just thought the info might help you figure out what you have in your own pond

I have seen breeding stars on my mature males, never on the younger/smaller ones. If you check the link I provided you can see a couple photos of them on a shubunkin. They also talk about other ways to determine what sex your goldfish is but I think the breeding stars are the easiest way.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Thanks, @bettasngoldfish, but what I was more curious about was the natural ratio of males to females. But next time I suspect spawning, I will look for breeding stars (hope they're not too hard to see on a goldie....koi are probably more obvious).

This is another one of those 'It Depends' questions. Different fish specie have different ratios. In some species all of the fry are born either male or female, with certain individual fish changing sex as they mature. Another factor is the age of the fish. Female fish live considerable longer than male fish. The mortality rate for males due to age is quite high in some species. And finally, there is some who suspect that environment may play a big part in the sex ratio in a particular body of water.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Female fish live considerable longer than male fish.

Interesting info Meyer

I have no idea on any of that but if I were to guess male over female living longer I would guess the males would live longer. I really don't have a clue why I think that I just do

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Interesting info Meyer

I have no idea on any of that but if I were to guess male over female living longer I would guess the males would live longer. I really don't have a clue why I think that I just do

In captivity they likely do, but in the wild, female longevity has been proven. In one specie of Flounder, at age 1 year males comprise slightly over 50% of the population, by year 6 this has been reduced to less than 10% of all 6 year old flounder.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

In captivity they likely do, but in the wild, female longevity has been proven. In one specie of Flounder, at age 1 year males comprise slightly over 50% of the population, by year 6 this has been reduced to less than 10% of all 6 year old flounder.

Wow, That's a big difference in numbers. Any idea what is happening to the male population?

 

[tbendl]

I was going to go with female's are tougher but the truth is probably that we just suck the will to live right out of them.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I was going to go with female's are tougher but the truth is probably that we just suck the will to live right out of them.

Eh.....Yep!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Wow, That's a big difference in numbers. Any idea what is happening to the male population?

According to that particular study, it was basically natural causes. The males are evidently genetically predisposed to a short life span.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

I was going to go with female's are tougher but the truth is probably that we just suck the will to live right out of them.

LOL! You crack me up!

 

[bettasngoldfish]

According to that particular study, it was basically natural causes. The males are evidently genetically predisposed to a short life span.

Wow, Maybe they just lead more exciting and dangerous lives than the girls

 

[MitchM]

Wasn't it Fonzie that said it's good to live hard, die fast and leave a good looking corpse?
That's us, guys!