Bennie’s problem is one thing, the dominance of male fish in the pet shops another. In this case it is simply the result of the fact that male Parosphromenus are more attractive than females. The local catchers catch more males than females, already, because they are more attractive. The export companies sell more males than females for the same reason. More than once I saw tanks full of freshly imported Parosphromenus consisting nearly of males only, hundreds of fish. They do not bother thinking of such strange people as we are who try to breed the fish they sell. Aquarium fish are “ornamental fish”, fish to be kept as long as they live (or one is pleased by them), and then die. Then you buy new ones. Breeding is a pastime fitting with guppies or some barbs or labyrinths easy to be kept, not with Parosphromenus. We are exotic creatures trying to propagate them; for people with the intention of selling fish this is contra-productive. (Well, I exaggerate a bit …).
There is no such sexual onesidedness in nature. It’s the selection starting from the catch already and propagating itself through the tanks of exporter-importer-pet shop.
Bennie’s problem is different from that. I have to admit that I really don’t know the proper explanation.
The
PAROSPHROMENUS PROJECT
