Swordtail Fry (macro Photos!)

[Sofia]

Got any more pics Piscator?

 

[Piscator]

Got any more pics Piscator?

Oh yes! But... have not had the time to upload them. I'll get around to this on Tuesday. There are two more sets on the way. At 10 days old (today) I can see pigmentation starting to appear in the upper head region, and I think anatomical differences are appearing in the caudal fins. If this is the case, then sexual differentiation can be detected after 11 days or so, instead of 28-42 days. Stay tuned .....

 

[hardy885]

great pics.

 

[oliesminis]

great looking fry and pics.

 

[Piscator]

OK, it's time to update you all with some more swordtail fry macro pics. I have taken sets of pictures at 3 days old, 5 days, 10 days, and 13 days old. The first set of pics (already posted) were of the fry at 3 days old. The set below is at 10 days. The other two sets do not show enough of a difference with the others to be worth posting here. So... here is the latest set of my growing fry:

This is an interesting bit of data. I wonder why the pigmentation starts to develop only on the top of the fry body?

If you look very closely, you can see the radials of the pelvic fins already starting to form.

There appears to be a structural difference with this specimen. The pelvic fins are not nearly as developed as the one above. In adult male swordtails, the pelvic fins are not as large as those of the females. Does this suggest a sexual difference showing up at just 10 days old? Could this be a male?

Stay tuned for more research results in a few days.......