Genicanthus harem

[revhtree Verified Admin]

@Mike&Terry suggested I should get a Genicanthus harem for my reef and that got me thinking! I really would love to add a group like this to my tank.

Which group would you suggest I add? :)

 

[sc50964]

So we are talking about bellus, Japanese masked swallowtail , regular swallowtail, Lamarck, and watanabei. What's your budget and which one do you like?

 

[psirex]

Japanese or Bellus..... I'm still searching for Japanese.....

 

[jlanger]

Not knowing any of your limitations, I would suggest supporting Karen Brittain and adding a harem of captive bred G. personatus.
Otherwise I'm a big fan of the Masked Swallowtails and Lamarck's.

 

[Mike&Terry]

Ha! I am partial to G. semifasciatus and G. bellus, but love them all!

 

[BoneXriffic]

Google the name and this comes up lol

 

[ksfulk]

The Japanese masked swallowtails are gorgeous, but a harem of watanabeis would be beautiful as well.

If it comes down to just picking one species to run with, I would look at what colors/shapes/stripes you are missing from the rest of your stocking list and see if you can gain some variety there. The Bellus give you the oranges and blues. Watanabei give the blues that are a nice soothing fill. The masked swallowtail males are stunning, but the females are a little plain.

 

[ZoaCollector]

Japanese or Bellus..... I'm still searching for Japanese.....

You must've just missed it, I had a few

 

[eatbreakfast]

My favorite in the genus is watanabi. Something elegent about the shade of blue of the females, and any male of the genus is spectacular.

 

[mort]

My favorite in the genus is watanabi. Something elegent about the shade of blue of the females, and any male of the genus is spectacular.

Must say I agree. I used to love my Bellus pair but there is something about wantanabei angels. I'm also a big fan of lamarcks.

 

[Ted_C]

Can you have a of mix Bellus and Swallowtail / others or does they need to be all the same?

 

[eatbreakfast]

Can you have a of mix Bellus and Swallowtail / others or does they need to be all the same?

They'll mix, but in most cases there will only be one male of the genus.

 

[psirex]

You must've just missed it, I had a few

Let me know when you have more!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! What are your thoughts on adding a couple different harems into one tank? Providing the size is adequate of course.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! What are your thoughts on adding a couple different harems into one tank? Providing the size is adequate of course.

You can have a harem of multiple species, but if you have a male for more than one species only the most dominant will stay male in most cases. The less dominant ones will revert to female, even if they are different species.

 

[sc50964]

You can have a harem of multiple species, but if you have a male for more than one species only the most dominant will stay male in most cases. The less dominant ones will revert to female, even if they are different species.

Is that still the case for a large tank (ie 400g or more)?

 

[eatbreakfast]

Is that still the case for a large tank (ie 400g or more)?

I've only had it work out in tanks about double that volume(10'+long), about 850g.

 

[psirex]

You can have a harem of multiple species, but if you have a male for more than one species only the most dominant will stay male in most cases. The less dominant ones will revert to female, even if they are different species.

So angelfish follow this rule as well?

 

[eatbreakfast]

So angelfish follow this rule as well?

I find the genus to be among the most likely of all fishes to revert back if not dominant.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I love the Japanese Swallowtails and plan to have some on my 400+ when that materializes...