Is This A Male Or Female Pearl Gourami?

[lillykinloo]

Hi everyone! I purchased one Pearl Gourami from a lfs and added it to my tank. The lfs was honest in saying that he wasn't sure if the fish is male or female, but he thought it was a male. I am interested in having 3 Pearl Gouramis (1 male and 2 females), so I would like to know the sex of this one before purchasing any companions. Sorry for the picture quality...he/she was just added to the tank and is very, very shy and likes to dart behind the filter or plants whenever I come around. Also, despite soaking the mopani wood and bog wood for a week, there are still a lot of tannins in the water which has turned the water the color of tea. Thanks!

Errrrr...I've had some problems uploading my picture. Here is a link where you can view a picture of the fish in question. Sorry for the inconvenience.
(There is also a picture of one of my diamond tetras that kept swimming in front of the camera hoping for some food)


http/www.adamsalbum.smugmug.com/gallery/2458884#128952758

I hope this link works for you. Thank you again!

 

[lillykinloo]

Well, I was able to add the picture as my avatar, but it's so small, you can't even tell what it is. I am really having some difficulties with this attachment stuff.

 

[severum boy]

From what I can tell, id say it was a male.

 

[Biulu]

From what I can tell, id say it was a male.

It looks like a male to me as well. Another distinctive is that the female is a bit more 'bulky' in the stomach area. If you want to be absolutely sure, you can also wait until he develops threadfins, since it is only the male that gets these.

 

[lillykinloo]

Thank you severum boy & Biulu! Guess I do have a boy.

 

[lillykinloo]

Well, now a couple of people think he is a she because of the rounded dorsal fin? I don't know what I have. I posted a few new pictures online:

http/www.adamsalbum.smugmug.com/gallery/2458884#129837802

One picture in this group of pictures is of a Diamond Tetra, but the rest are of my Pearl Gourami.

Also, if you look at the gills in the pictures, do the Pearl's gills look raw or like there's an open sore? (Specifically in this picture: http/www.adamsalbum.smugmug.com/gallery/2458884#129838153)

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Majjie]

You need Sylvia to have a look really. I too think she may be a female because the fin is so rounded ... but then what do I know? I tried to get two female pearls and a male, and ended up with two males and a female

I didn't notice the pink patch when I first looked at the pictures - so it obviously didn't look too bad - but the pic's a bit too small to tell.

 

[TerraDreamer]

I'll say female.

Until they're a good 2 to 2.5 inches in length it can be difficult to determine. The very rounded dorsal fin suggests female to me.

 

[Biulu]

I'll say female.

Until they're a good 2 to 2.5 inches in length it can be difficult to determine. The very rounded dorsal fin suggests female to me.

In my pearls the most distinctive feature is the dorsal fin, which is much smaller (basically half the size) in the female then in the male. The male's fin almost touches its tail, whereas the female has an upstanding dorsal fin which reaches until the middle of the back.

And again, the female has a real lady's stomach which is standing out a bit, whereas the male's stomach area is flat.

Since my male is mature, it also has the 'threadfins', but I know these develop only later. It took mine 6 months to develop.

 

[sylvia]

Hi

My inclination is to say it's female because it has no fin ray extensions as far as I can see, no orange and is quite plump. However, how big is this fish? If it's still only a baby, it could turn out to be male as yet. Males do develop a pointy fin but this can be misleading once they start developing extensions.

 

[lillykinloo]

Hi

My inclination is to say it's female because it has no fin ray extensions as far as I can see, no orange and is quite plump. However, how big is this fish? If it's still only a baby, it could turn out to be male as yet. Males do develop a pointy fin but this can be misleading once they start developing extensions.

Hi sylvia! Thank you very much for your help! (and, thanks to everyone for your help, too! ) This fish is about 3 inches long, so it may still have some growing to do I guess. However, I did see some baby gouramis today (about 1.5 inches), and my fish is at least twice as big as the babies, so I definitely don't have a baby.

 

[lillykinloo]

I went to my lfs today in search of two more Pearl Gouramis - 1 male and 1 female. No one at the fish store seems to be very confident in sexing the Pearl Gouramis, so I had to try to sex them myself. They are juvenile, so it's was hard to tell, but one definitely had an orange breast and a pointer dorsal fin. So, I thought this was a male. Then, there was a Pearl Gourami with no orange and a rounder dorsal fin, so I thought this one was a female. I purchased both of them and put them in the tank with the gourami that you all saw in the pictures. My first gourami in the pictures is much larger than these two new ones. The first gourami is about 3 inches long and these new gouramis are about 2 inches long. Well, the larger gourami immediately started coming out more (yay). She was very interested in investigating her new friends, and all 3 of them immediately started flicking each other with their feelers. They also started swimming around together. But then, the larger gourami started gently swimming up to one of the smaller gouramis and gently nipping at it (it almost looked like she was sniffing at it). The smaller gourami didn't try to swim away or act hurt. They are all still swimming about together. But, the largest keeps acting like she's sniffing at the smaller gouramis. Is this behavior ok, or do I need to take the smaller gouramis back?

 

[sylvia]

It's fine and will resolve itself eventualy. You might have some mild aggression while the hierarchy is sorted normaly but because one is so obviously larger, it'll, by default, take the dominant position. Eventualy the other two will catch up.

 

[lillykinloo]

It's fine and will resolve itself eventualy. You might have some mild aggression while the hierarchy is sorted normaly but because one is so obviously larger, it'll, by default, take the dominant position. Eventualy the other two will catch up.

Thanks, again Sylvia! I really appreciate your help! (and everyone seems to be getting along for the moment)

 

[Espyish]

I am 90% sure that is a female