Bristlenose Sexing

[idlefingers]

I know that the bristles don't start appearing until they're bigger and one of my bristlenoses is now getting to a little over 2" and no bristles. In pics I see of other young bristlenoses, they look to be a similar size but do have bristles.

So, my question is, how big do they get before you can, with confidence say it's male or female? I'm starting to wonder if mine is a female.

 

[dylema]

I would say by about 6-7cm (2.5-3") you should be able to tell but not necesarrily absolutley (In saying this I had a 9cm male with only one small bristle on his nose). You can also look at the body shape. Males tend to be biggest at the head and get thinner straight down to the tail where as females may have a bit of a belly and look a bit rounder in the middle. Males get more hairy on their pectoral fins and often have bigger odontodes (the retractable spikes) at the side of their head.

Hope this helps

Dylan

 

[idlefingers]

Thanks!

It's the body shape which is confusing me in relation to the lack of bristles. It has a more male boy shape, so I guess the bristles have yet to come.

 

[dane261]

i have 2 about 2 inches and you can tell that they are male and female as one has devolped bristles at a good size wish i could find me camera lead so i could upload some pics

 

[Teelie]

I have 5 of them total. Two are adults though the male is a younger adult and only after his first breeding did his bristles really start to show. There are four others, two males and two females and the two males are already getting bristles whereas my larger male had about as many as they did despite being bigger. Sometimes it depends on the individual fish.

 

[dylema]

Thanks!

It's the body shape which is confusing me in relation to the lack of bristles. It has a more male boy shape, so I guess the bristles have yet to come.

Or its fat little belly has yet to come lol. You will know soon enough.

 

[andyj]

the sexed fry that I'm selling at the mo, are only about 1.5-2" in length, and the males have bristles on their noses.

but saying that, my adults are only about 4-4.5" long, so they're on the small side for BN's anyway !!!!

 

[fishlette]

Thanks!

It's the body shape which is confusing me in relation to the lack of bristles. It has a more male boy shape, so I guess the bristles have yet to come.

Or its fat little belly has yet to come lol. You will know soon enough.

where in sa are you from? im originally from sa too

 

[Jozlyn]

My BN is around 6.5cm (2.55") and it hasn't got a bristle in sight, I was actually going to ask the same question. I'd like to have a go at breeding them. The other one is only about 4cm's (1.57"). Where are the bristles actually located? Are there any pictures anywhere, saying that a female has a tummy, doesn't really help as I've got nothing to compare to. I've read the pinned topic but that doesn't really tell me how to sex them. Sorry for the hyjack idlefingers, but it's the same topic and I figured a new thread would be a waste of time.

 

[dylema]

Ok so I dug out some photos I took last week to demonstrate body shape. These guys are about 7-8cm and are just getting mature. Please excuse the quality as I couldn't find any sharp shots that show what I wanted.

Boy body shape.

Girl Body shape

I know that it is a bit hard to see but the girl is fatter in between the pectoral and pelvic fins.

Boys bristles.

And a nice shot just because I like It.

Just in case you didn't know they are the same as the normal BN but are albinos.

Dylan

fishlette, I am from Adelaide hills near blackwood.

 

[Jozlyn]

Wow, thanks for that Dylan, absolutely cleared it up for me. I believe mine is a girl, not a bristle to be seen anywhere and definately the wider type body.

Will have to wait and see with the other one, it's way too small at the moment.

Thanks again,
Joscelyne

 

[idlefingers]

thanks dylema. from that, I think mine's a male, I guess the bristles are just taking a while to come through..

I know not all females have bristles, but do all males?

I'll have to try to get some photos of him and see what you guys reckon.

 

[dylema]

thanks dylema. from that, I think mine's a male, I guess the bristles are just taking a while to come through..

I know not all females have bristles, but do all males?

I'll have to try to get some photos of him and see what you guys reckon.

Some males hardly have any. I had a mature male with one bristle on his nose. We called him Rhino of couse.

He had one lot of babies which I are still too small to sex, I am interested to see if they too only have one bristle. I have 7 left so I am sure there would be a male in there. Unfortunatley Rhino died in a tank crash but his off spring were safe in another tank.

Dylan

 

[Ristof]

Sorry to hear about your loss

I got two bn last year and they both turned out to be male, I moved them out of the big tank and lost one now I have one large male in another tank
I put two smaller bn in the big tank, can't tell what sex they are, they are till only about 1.5-2cm. Well I think there are still two in there, I can only seem to see one but I know how good of hiders they are so I am not too worried yet.
I have also got one in my guppy tank and I think that is a male aswell.

I am hoping that I can get a female out of one in the big tank because I would love to breed these little guys in my guppy tank in one of the castles.

Does anyone know if you can buy mature females in either south west Vic or se SA in Australia

 

[Jozlyn]

I'm in NW Vic and my LFS's only get baby fish, no matter how many I times I've tried to order specific sex fish they just get young ones and try to sell them to me.