Sexing Gouramis
- Thread starter 3006Kelly
- Start date
emma12321
fish nerd
Hi,
What type of gourami's do you have? If you hit the search button then type sexing gourami there are loads of past topics telling you how to sex them, some types are easier than others.
Emma
What type of gourami's do you have? If you hit the search button then type sexing gourami there are loads of past topics telling you how to sex them, some types are easier than others.
Emma
boyneburn
New Member
Most Gouramis are sexed by the male has a pointed tip at the back end of dorsal fin & the females is rounded.This is not hard & fast as some kinds are different.Opaline,3-spot,Pearl etc can be sexed this way.
'Opaline' and 'three-spot' both reffer to the same species - as do the names 'lavender', 'platinum', 'blue', 'gold' and 'cosby' gourami. These are all trichogaster trichopterus and can be very easily sexed by looking at the dorsal fin which is much longer and more pointed in males than in females. Also, the female's body is deeper-looking and wider if you look down on them from above, while the male is slimmer and more stream-lined.
Similar rules apply to pearl gouramies with the added difference of the male having extended fin rays and a bright red-orange ventral (throat/underside) area. You also can't see the dorsal is pointed in adult males because of the extended rays.
Dwarf gouramies are another common gourami species. Males are the ones with bright colors and also have longer dorsal and anal fins that often look quite 'bulbous' for lack of a better word.
Similarly, honey gourami males develop a blue-black ventral area when in breeding condition and are brighter than females. The fin differences in these fish are also there but sometimes are more difficult to spot - particularly with younger fish.
On the other end of the spectrum, there's species like the kissing gourami which cannot be sexed. There are some slight differences in body shape between gravid females and males but, in practice, you can only reliably sex them if they spawn.
Then there's fish such as sparkling and croaking gouramies where the male usualy has more colorful patterns but the fins are not a good indication of sex. However, the males of these two species do make distinctive sounds (hence the name 'croaking'), which the females are less inclined to do.
Fish like the paradisefish can easily be distinguished between because the males, besides being brighter, have very long caudal fins - as well as anal and dorsal fins.
Then things like betta splendens most people know how to sex because of the males' characteristic long fins. With plakats, it's a different story so you need to look at the ovipositors instead.
If I haven't made it clear already, you need to specify which 'gourami' species it is you are reffering to... Post pictures if you are confused about anything.
edit: terrible spelling that I only just noticed - it's also good to hear (shuhu) that you found this interesting
Similar rules apply to pearl gouramies with the added difference of the male having extended fin rays and a bright red-orange ventral (throat/underside) area. You also can't see the dorsal is pointed in adult males because of the extended rays.
Dwarf gouramies are another common gourami species. Males are the ones with bright colors and also have longer dorsal and anal fins that often look quite 'bulbous' for lack of a better word.
Similarly, honey gourami males develop a blue-black ventral area when in breeding condition and are brighter than females. The fin differences in these fish are also there but sometimes are more difficult to spot - particularly with younger fish.
On the other end of the spectrum, there's species like the kissing gourami which cannot be sexed. There are some slight differences in body shape between gravid females and males but, in practice, you can only reliably sex them if they spawn.
Then there's fish such as sparkling and croaking gouramies where the male usualy has more colorful patterns but the fins are not a good indication of sex. However, the males of these two species do make distinctive sounds (hence the name 'croaking'), which the females are less inclined to do.
Fish like the paradisefish can easily be distinguished between because the males, besides being brighter, have very long caudal fins - as well as anal and dorsal fins.
Then things like betta splendens most people know how to sex because of the males' characteristic long fins. With plakats, it's a different story so you need to look at the ovipositors instead.
If I haven't made it clear already, you need to specify which 'gourami' species it is you are reffering to... Post pictures if you are confused about anything.
edit: terrible spelling that I only just noticed - it's also good to hear (shuhu) that you found this interesting
shuhu
Fish Crazy
wow sylvia 
thats a great (informative) post!!
thats a great (informative) post!!
Hi,
What type of gourami's do you have? If you hit the search button then type sexing gourami there are loads of past topics telling you how to sex them, some types are easier than others.
Emma
Hi, thanks 2 the reply, i have opaline and gold gourami
'Opaline' and 'three-spot' both reffer to the same species - as do the names 'lavender', 'platinum', 'blue', 'gold' and 'cosby' gourami. These are all trichogaster trichopterus and can be very easily sexed by looking at the dorsal fin which is much longer and more pointed in males than in females. Also, the female's body is deeper-looking and wider if you look down on them from above, while the male is slimmer and more stream-lined.
Similar rules apply to pearl gouramies with the added difference of the male having extended fin rays and a bright red-orange ventral (throat/underside) area. You also can't see the dorsal is pointed in adult males because of the extended rays.
Dwarf gouramies are another common gourami species. Males are the ones with bright colors and also have longer dorsal and anal fins that often look quite 'bulbous' for lack of a better word.
Similarly, honey gourami males develop a blue-black ventral area when in breeding condition and are brighter than females. The fin differences in these fish are also there but sometimes are more difficult to spot - particularly with younger fish.
On the other end of the spectrum, there's species like the kissing gourami which cannot be sexed. There are some slight differences in body shape between gravid females and males but, in practice, you can only reliably sex them if they spawn.
Then there's fish such as sparkling and croaking gouramies where the male usualy has more colorful patterns but the fins are not a good indication of sex. However, the males of these two species do make distinctive sounds (hence the name 'croaking'), which the females are less inclined to do.
Fish like the paradisefish can easily be distinguished between because the males, besides being brighter, have very long caudal fins - as well as anal and dorsal fins.
Then things like betta splendens most people know how to sex because of the males' characteristic long fins. With plakats, it's a different story so you need to look at the ovipositors instead.
If I haven't made it clear already, you need to specify which 'gourami' species it is you are reffering to... Post pictures if you are confused about anything.
edit: terrible spelling that I only just noticed - it's also good to hear (shuhu) that you found this interesting
Hi, thanks for a truly informative answer, it really helped, i think i have worked it out now, thanks again, kelly
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