Is My Swordtail Male Or Female?

[akudewan]

This swordtail that I have, doesn't have a sword on the tail, but I see a gonopodium, (or do I?) is that a male or a female?

 

[juliehainsworth]

It looks like a male

Nice one as well never seen them that colour before

 

[millym]

how old is your swordie? or if you dont know how big is it ( as in length) looks like a juvenile male to me.

 

[blitztidus]

That looks about a 8-9 month old male but a male for sure

 

[akudewan]

Thanks for replying

I bought this one a couple of months ago. Its around 1.5 inches in length,

 

[Annastasia]

It's a male. Possibly a Variatus Platy, or a Platy/Swordie cross. It's hard to say. Maybe he's just a Swordless Swordtail.

He's got stunning color though. Is that his true color, or did the camera play a part?

 

[akudewan]

He really is bright red I just had to get him, he brightens up the whole tank

 

[millym]

he definitely is a gorgeous colour!!!

 

[Scvpirates]

definately a male. maybe a platy/sword cross. my sword i have is still small and has a fairly nice tail already.

 

[OldMan47]

You have a young male that has not yet developed a sword. Any fish that red is a platy / sword cross but that does not mean it won't develop a nice sword tail.

 

[Scvpirates]

even though its a female if theres no males in the tank it will change sex. i just got 2 new female swords.

 

[OldMan47]

You have that backwards ScvPirates. If there is a dominant male in a tank, some of the males will not fully develop and will seem to be females at a casual glance. When the dominant male is no longer present, one of the sneaker males will develop to become the new dominant male. A swordtail's gender is determined by genes, not by tank mates. What changes is the fish's willingness to be recognized as a male.

 

[Scvpirates]

oh thats good information to know. i have a male in the tank and just introduced two females. so no chance the females will change? thats good.

 

[OldMan47]

There is a small chance of them eventually showing male characteristics but that just means that they will have fooled you as well as the dominant male. If your fish has produced fry, it will never look like a male.