haedra

So...I hunted online for information on how to determine the gender of the dwarf gourami. Females: not as colorful, rounded dorsal and anal fin edges. Males: pretty much the opposite. Am I understanding that correctly? Now, I've also read in this forum that many stores don't even sell female DG's because they aren't as "pretty" (in quotes, because lack of color doesn't equal not pretty, imo!)

What confuses me then about this guy, is that he/she is colorful; but also has rounded ends on the dorsal and anal fin; or at least best as I can tell. Is this a he...or a she then? Or do the powder blues have more rounded fins than other DG's? I am confused!

Any input is appreciated.

*including many pics to help confirm gender.

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prairielilly

aaawww, adorable! The dorsal fin is definitely LESS pointed than my DG's was...may mean this is a girl? other's opinions?

My DG was really pale in the store, as I find many fish are. In fact once he started to 'colour up' it freaked me out - I thought something was wrong! but he was just happy

My dwarf gourami's changing colour! is this normal?

Shawnie

thats a very very beautiful gal...great pics and quality of shots ..someday I might be able to do shots like that!!!!!

haedra

I don't know, that's why I'm so confused... lol. The fins are rounded, but the colors on him/her are astoundingly bright. The first two pics are really not representative of the true color at all; in order to get the edges of the fins more clear, I adjusted the brightness and contrast. The last 3 pictures are closer to the actual color; which is very blue.

prairielilly

Sort of like a 'metallic' blue? I've seen those in the store. Very beautiful fish! and the personality on these bibbies...

I'd call her Venus

haedra

Oh yea, pretty shimmery. Do you think it is a female even though the colors are so bright? Venus is a great name by the way.

prairielilly

I could be off here, but my understanding is that the 'metallic' toned fish are equally bright both male and female (I'm thinking silver dollars, black neon tetras...) whereas the non-metallic ones the females are dimmer. I remember once seeing a tank of gouramis where you could tell the males from the females just by colour - there were a few that were definitely grey-white, while others were vibrant.

That dorsal fin is definitely rounded though, big distinction from what my DG had.

haedra

Oh yes, I am totally in love with the little fishie already. Due to the fins, and the rounder body, I'm going to assume at this point that I have a "she."

I had read the these fish were a little slower in getting used to new surroundings; but she is at the moment happily zooming around the tank, and my plan of feeding little "tidbits" throughout the day instead of a solid meal seems to have worked. When she sees me coming she waits for the lid to open.

So, Venus it is! As long as there are no disagreements on gender, I think I'm going with female here.

prairielilly

Yay! oh you're going to love her - they are so full of personality!

I like 'Venus' Funny, her colouring reminded me of the mineral muscovite - which wouldn't exactly make a good fishie name - which sounded a little bit like Aphrodite (getting better), which is the Greek form of Venus. So that's why I suggested that. (I think Venus is the blue planet? could be off, not into astronomy really...but that would be neat too!)

harpua2002

That really looks like a male to me. As far as I know, coloration is a more accurate way to sex DG's than the shape of the fins. You have a very pretty fish, it just looks too bright to be a female IMO. It's been my experience that female DG's are nearly impossible to find at most LFSs.

haedra

Gah! It shouldn't matter to me so much... but I'm so particular about having the correct gender names!

ABCDemily

It does have lovely bright colouring, however because of the dull brown stripes, it could be a female, it does have quite rounded fins.
Venus it is!

haedra

Well I just called the store, and they are claiming to only sell males; but that's because it is what their "ticket" says. But their ticket also says they are a bottom level swimmer. So now I don't know what to believe!

At least I have names for both sexes though. "Venus" for female, "Neptune" for male; but which is it? lol

For the record: they are actually more of an orange/red. Old, point and shoot camera and bad room lighting might make them look different.

harpua2002

Male.

LOL

haedra

Maybe I can just combine the two.. "Neptenus?"

no, that sounds weird.

Shawnie

hahahaahaha I love it!!!!! and im still sticking to a girlie either way tho...its a beautiful/handsome fish! and they have a ton of personality enjoy

haedra

Oh, I am enjoying already! This little girl/guy/alien/whatever got me hook, line, and sinker. There hasn't really been any hiding at all, save for the first evening. Since then, there's been no stopping the little thing from zooming all over being nosey... and perpetually looking for food.

More pics here: http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/600689-post19.html

Shawnie

you have an amazing camera! im so envious..and after those pics, im so sticking with a gal haha.. check out post #4 and #10 ...those look like males....but then again, either way you have a great looking fish who looks like they could really sit down and have a conversation with you! love the face shots of yours!

haedra

Update: the dorsal and anal fins have grown longer at the ends, which leads me to believe that I had not picked the fish with no nips in the fins like I had thought. So looks like his fins might be getting a bit more masculine!

And he is truly challenging me with his diet. He has decided that he only likes to eat my bottom feeder food. While he ate flakes the first day, he now spits them out, then ignores them. I tried giving him a freeze dried bloodworm, and he also spit that out. And, well you already know what happened with the zucchini. But he seems to adore peas (which I only tried once so far), and the algae wafers, and shrimp pellets! What the heck...now instead of a pile of cories at feeding time there is a pile of cories with a flash of blue in the midst.

I'm really trying to keep his diet very varied, because I had read that they needed it so. I have so much food on hand, but he apparently decided he wanted to be a bottom feeder, at least for now.

prairielilly

being difficult is (s)he? yeah, sounds like a DG!

Venus...Neptune...Neptunia?

I found breaking up the wafers and distributing them around the tank helped. Also putting the flakes just under the surface instead of sprinkling over the top - it's something to do with wet vs dry, or maybe the 'chase' and 'hunt' aspect - I dunno, but that gave my cories a chance to eat their own food.

haedra

I've got to say I probably always have been anti-flake to some degree, just because of the little random bits that end up sinking, never to be found. But man, the cories sure do like them! And with them around, I don't have to worry about that mess; they really are meticulous in finding all the little pieces.

Not that it matters I guess. "Neptune" really does not like them. I've tried now for 3 days in a row, and all he does is eat them, and spit them out. And that is after they begin to sink; he seems to be mostly feeding from the middle. He tastes everything that he can chase.

But there are 3 things that he seems to LOVE. I tried peas on him again, and he really does like those. He also seems to love nibbling at the sinking shrimp pellets and the algae wafers.

So here are my questions: What would be a good feeding schedule to make sure his diet is varied enough to keep him healthy? Even though he didn't like the freeze dried bloodworms, I thought I'd try frozen. I also still have frozen baby brine shrimp on hand. I'm willing to give some of that a try too, if the cories will find the tiny pieces that inevitably fall to the bottom (they are sooo small). Aside from the smell (*giggle*) that's the only thing I really dislike about the baby brine shrimp. The pieces are so small, and I can't feed one at a time so it seems so messy. Is there pelleted food that I can try on him as well? I tried a softened betta pellet on him, but I'd rather have something designed for an omnivore. And while I already thought of cucumber, what other veggies would be a healthy part of his diet?

Thanks all!

prairielilly

It's honestly the first I've heard of a DG that didn't eat everything that hit the water...may change after he's settled in a little more? beyond that I think you've got it covered, he just needs to be getting a good mix of meat based/veg based, and it sounds like he is.

I always found BBS were incredibly messy as the pieces were so bitty, so I only feed that on or just before tank-cleaning day. I use Tetra 'the rich mix' pellets - they don't float (well, very well anyways) and he might like those, although they're basically a tiny pellet version of the flakes. You could soak them in 'juice' from a frozen food to soften, or Garlic Guard or Vitachem. There's also 'crisps' - also sort of like flakes. Have you tried a spinach leaf on a veggie clip? (or under a rock lol)

What I'd do is just keep on with the stuff he does eat, rotating through the different kinds, and try introducing flakes or other new stuff in a few weeks or so.

haedra

Thanks.

The bloodworms were a hit at least. I finally picked up some frozen ones. If fish could drool, they all would have been every time I walked into their line of sight. I've never seen so much fishy begging in my life.

prairielilly

I love fishy begging Means they're healthy, happy and well cared for!

charlenelc

That DG is definately a male. The color gives it away. Females are so hard to come by at any LFS, the only ones I've ever found were at Walmart. You can tell that those were female because they have no shimmering scales, but they are not dull either. They are more of a bronze/yellow color.

In the past, my pair almost bred. The male build the huge bubblenest, the two were conditioned with live foods and pristine water conditions, but the embrace just never happened.

I'll try to see if I can find pictures of my female.

charlenelc

No pictures on my computer, but here's an article I did on another forum:
http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/755/

GouramiGirl1221

My vote is male. My powder blue boy had rounded fins when I got him, but they now have very distinct points (he's my avatar picture). I'm going to agree that the coloring is way too bright to be a female.

haedra

Thanks, all! As I already see the dorsal growing I have been leaning that way as well.

You know what's funny? After all this I'm not so sure I even like the name "Neptune" anyway. So I guess I'm still on the hunt for a name..

haedra

Ok...new pic.

I have to say that for sure his dorsal is growing.