Female Or Male?

[constantine03]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that the fish is a female. If he's had her for two months, and the fish was at least 3 months when purchased, it's at LEAST 5 months old...and that is not a young fish, it's a good age and should be fully matured by this time. I see the oviposter, and I also see an eggy looking stomach. The ventrals don't appear to be very long. If anything, I believe it's a very mature (aged) VT female and that's what's causing it to look so filled out and fooling you all. She does have beautiful colors. It's called "extended red" when they are completely red like this, and it is likely that she is flaring with a mirror, as reds cab tend to be more aggressive than other colors for some reason. The fact that he says there isn't a beard also just furthers my belief that she IS a she.

Phoe, isn't Beau the one that I thought was a VT that you said was a PK? I know the one in the picture that you're pointing out is the one that I thought we were talking about. Maybe I was looking at the wrong fish at the time.

 

[newfishy]

it looks body wise just like one of my sisters older vt females, mature well fed vts some times just look very filled out like that, and agreeing with constantine if he has had her for so long she is deffinatly not a juvi.

 

[Phoenixbaby]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that the fish is a female. If he's had her for two months, and the fish was at least 3 months when purchased, it's at LEAST 5 months old...and that is not a young fish, it's a good age and should be fully matured by this time. I see the oviposter, and I also see an eggy looking stomach. The ventrals don't appear to be very long. If anything, I believe it's a very mature (aged) VT female and that's what's causing it to look so filled out and fooling you all. She does have beautiful colors. It's called "extended red" when they are completely red like this, and it is likely that she is flaring with a mirror, as reds cab tend to be more aggressive than other colors for some reason. The fact that he says there isn't a beard also just furthers my belief that she IS a she.

Phoe, isn't Beau the one that I thought was a VT that you said was a PK? I know the one in the picture that you're pointing out is the one that I thought we were talking about. Maybe I was looking at the wrong fish at the time.

lol no ur thinking of hollie, who i think im gonna lose

Beau has always been undoubtably a female VT, even if her anal fin is very long lol

Hollie does look vt when shes not at flare, but when she is her anal fin is very squared off much like my other pk female stevie lol

 

[bronzecat]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that the fish is a female. If he's had her for two months, and the fish was at least 3 months when purchased, it's at LEAST 5 months old...and that is not a young fish, it's a good age and should be fully matured by this time. I see the oviposter, and I also see an eggy looking stomach. The ventrals don't appear to be very long.

Hi
We have 5/6 month old juvi's, about 10 of them, and some of them have yet to develop fully. 5 months is not "a good age", its still really a juvi. Take one of our males, Draco. He was bought about 3 months ago as a halfmoon juvi. He has now, in the last few weeks developed into a feathertail. He's at least 6 months old. Fish dont all develop at the same rate.
I'm not saying your wrong or right about this fish, but before getting any tank mates etc.....the op needs to be sure what it is.
The ventrals in the first picture dont look long, because you cant see the white tips, but in the second pic they are pretty long. They are longer than the anal fin.
This was bought as a female, but its actually a male -

 

[constantine03]

Bronzecat, I see what you're saying, and I def. know that fish develop at different stages/times. I have some fry that are an inch long, and a few random little guys that look like they're only about two weeks old...all from the same spawn.

The thing about the fish you've posted is that it does actually have a very male body shape. The biggest hint on that is that the area near the ventrals is very smooth, but the fish in the OP is extended and more lightly colored, showing an egg region. Females typically keep the bulge in that area even when not full of eggs, whereas males do not. They have a slightly different body shape. They are confusing though. I think the best way to tell if this fish is a female would be to condition it and see if it gets eggy. Then we'd just all know instead of speculating!

 

[ryanp15]

thanks for all your help

haha im confused now! so how do i condition her/him to find out?

 

[Phoenixbaby]

i really think u have a female there, dunno why just think lol

maybe ask daz and see what he thinks?

 

[constantine03]

Feed as much as it can eat, wait a few minutes and then feed a bit more (brine shrimp, blood worms, live or frozen). Feed it this high protein diet 3-4x a day. In time (a week or two), the belly should get bigger and turn a lighter color and stay this way even after the food has been digested if it is a female.