HankB
New Member
Good morning,
I've had tropical fish off and on for over 60 years. At present I have a 55 gallon tank, fairly heavily planted, with the following:
At present the biggest issue I face is the corys. I'd like a couple more but seem to be facing "the great bronze cory shortage of 2023." My LFS hasn't had any for months. I checked a couple online sites and they had none also. I'm starting to think that my little ones (about 1" long at time of purchase) will reach maturity and I can convert my otherwise unused quarantine tank to a breeding tank and have them make more for me.
The main reason I'm joining is so I can ask about sexing pearl gouramis and diamond tetras. I'll ask here and can repeat in the appropriate fora if necessary.
At first I was convinced the pearls were male and female. One developed long rays on the anal fin and they're about 1/2" long now. I'm not good with estimating fish length, but I'd say they're about 3 1/2" long now. I've had them about 5 months and they were on the small size when purchased. They both show good color and now the one I thought to be a female is starting to develop extended rays on the anal fin. My question is if this is normal for a female or is this a slow developing male. When they were younger they seem to hang out together but they don't do that any more.
I have a similar question WRT the Diamond tetras. Of the five, one is clearly a male with a very extended dorsal fin. Another is clearly a female with paler colors and very short dorsal fin. The other three seem to fall into a continuum between these extremes. I wonder if I got 4 males and one female.
And in regards to both of these, I wonder if the presence of other makes will slow the sexual maturity of others in the same tank.
best,
I've had tropical fish off and on for over 60 years. At present I have a 55 gallon tank, fairly heavily planted, with the following:
- 1 old bristlenose plecos and two younger ones
- 4 Siamese algae eaters
- 3 little bronze corys (C. aeneus)
- 5 diamond tetras
- 4 yoyo loaches
- and a partridge in a pear tree - just kidding...
At present the biggest issue I face is the corys. I'd like a couple more but seem to be facing "the great bronze cory shortage of 2023." My LFS hasn't had any for months. I checked a couple online sites and they had none also. I'm starting to think that my little ones (about 1" long at time of purchase) will reach maturity and I can convert my otherwise unused quarantine tank to a breeding tank and have them make more for me.
The main reason I'm joining is so I can ask about sexing pearl gouramis and diamond tetras. I'll ask here and can repeat in the appropriate fora if necessary.
At first I was convinced the pearls were male and female. One developed long rays on the anal fin and they're about 1/2" long now. I'm not good with estimating fish length, but I'd say they're about 3 1/2" long now. I've had them about 5 months and they were on the small size when purchased. They both show good color and now the one I thought to be a female is starting to develop extended rays on the anal fin. My question is if this is normal for a female or is this a slow developing male. When they were younger they seem to hang out together but they don't do that any more.
I have a similar question WRT the Diamond tetras. Of the five, one is clearly a male with a very extended dorsal fin. Another is clearly a female with paler colors and very short dorsal fin. The other three seem to fall into a continuum between these extremes. I wonder if I got 4 males and one female.
And in regards to both of these, I wonder if the presence of other makes will slow the sexual maturity of others in the same tank.
best,
