Angelfish Gender Examples

[bizaliz3]

To give you an idea of how hard they are to sex....some are predictable...others....not so much!!

Female

Male

Male

Male

Female

Female/ female

Male

Female

Male

Male top / female bottom

 

[nicolasfox93]

I see no difference!!

 

[Platylover]

This should be stickied! Great job biz!
Maybe you can add what the differences are?
Lucy

 

[bizaliz3]

Female left/male right

Male

Female

 

[MyFishFillet]

I find that the first few (6 or 7) pictures are all males and the rest are females. I'm just going off of head hump and dorsal fin angel which is never a sure fire way to sex an angel, it just an educated guess!

EDIT: I did not see that they were labeled... oops lol

 

[nicolasfox93]

What do you think this is? Above.
And this one. Below.

 

[bizaliz3]

Because I have males without even the SLIGHTEST hump....I will never claim to know for sure if one is a female.

And it is only when they have VERY VERY obvious humps that I will ever think I "know" the gender for sure without seeing a spawn.

I find that the first few (6 or 7) pictures are all males and the rest are females. I'm just going off of head hump and dorsal fin angel which is never a sure fire way to sex an angel, it just an educated guess!

EDIT: I did not see that they were labeled... oops lol

And that right there is why no one should imply that they can truly determine the gender of an angelfish based on a photo!! LOL

Now for their papilla (breeding tubes)

Female

Male

Female





And.......just to throw you all off further... my infamous male koi that not only had a female body shape....he's also VERY well endowed giving him a totally female looking papilla!!! Needless to say....I was very surprised to find my female black marble's eggs were actually fertilized after she spawned with him!! It took an actual spawn to know for sure!

 

[nicolasfox93]

O.O wow

 

[bizaliz3]

This should be stickied! Great job biz!
Maybe you can add what the differences are?
Lucy

Thanks I was just sitting here thinking....there are just so many people who want to know the gender of their angels. And it occurred to me, that I have had many many angels spawn in my house and therefore, I have many actual examples of proven males and females.

I just wanted everyone to see exactly why I refuse to claim to know the gender of an angel without them spawning first. Even the darn breeding tube is capable of being misleading!! LOL I thought all these photos might help people understand why angels can't truly be sexed without seeing them spawn.

 

[Lchi87]

What a great thread!

What about mine?!

 

[bizaliz3]

I have two more examples! My newest official male/female pair!! I've known the boy was a boy for a while now because he has been showing his breeding tube for a long time. But the female...she just started showing hers this weekend and now the two are now preparing their spawning site.

Male

Female

 

[bizaliz3]

I've got two more proven examples from my newest pair

Female



Male

 

[jmaldo]

Curious at what age will the breeding tubes become evident? I have 4 juv approx. 4-6 months old.

 

[bizaliz3]

Curious at what age will the breeding tubes become evident? I have 4 juv approx. 4-6 months old.

Usually around 8-9 months. The males tend to show theirs earlier. The females, in my experience, often don't show theirs until they actually have a partner and are close to egg laying.

Sometimes females will lay eggs on their own. But again...the tube stays pretty hidden on most females until they are really close to spawning.

 

[jmaldo]

Thank You bizaliz3 . Following. Just e-mailed the breeder/seller to get an exact age.

 

[bizaliz3]

Got some more examples!

This first one is a male that I could confidently say is a male even without a breeding tube or spawn. You will never see a female shaped like this!


Same for this male. There's no doubt it's a male with a head like that!!


And the rest of my new examples

Male


Male


Female


Male


Female

 

[Colt Frost]

Got some more examples!

This first one is a male that I could confidently say is a male even without a breeding tube or spawn. You will never see a female shaped like this!
View attachment 432260

Same for this male. There's no doubt it's a male with a head like that!!
View attachment 432261

And the rest of my new examples

Male
View attachment 432262

Male
View attachment 432263

Female
View attachment 432264

Male
View attachment 432265

Female
View attachment 432266

What kind of angel is the male second from the bottom?

 

[bizaliz3]

What kind of angel is the male second from the bottom?

He is a blue Smokey paraiba

 

[AngelTheGypsy]

My angels.
These have spawned so I know for sure
Male

Female

Male

Female

That pair together with breeding tubes showing, very obvious

This one has not spawned, but is confirmed male

 

[bizaliz3]

I've got more proven examples to share. Still...none of them look really obvious. But all have spawned and proven themselves.


MALE


FEMALE


FEMALE


MALE


FEMALE


MALE


FEMALE


MALE


MALE

 

[bizaliz3]

I also have a couple additional breeding tube photos

MALE
.

and here we have a side by side of the same female. On the left she is full of eggs and about to start laying them. Her tube is extended as far as it can go. On the right, she is empty of eggs and not in spawning mode....the tube is almost un-seeable. Females can be tricky for that reason. They sometimes don't show their tube even slightly, until they are ready to spawn.

 

[bizaliz3]

More examples!


This is a Male. No hump at all and very feminine looking.



Another male


Another male. No hump here either

 

[CyndiLove]

Because I have males without even the SLIGHTEST hump....I will never claim to know for sure if one is a female.

And it is only when they have VERY VERY obvious humps that I will ever think I "know" the gender for sure without seeing a spawn.



And that right there is why no one should imply that they can truly determine the gender of an angelfish based on a photo!! LOL

So do I have to wait until they breed to know? How would I check the breeding tube? I still have the 2 on the left since I lost the female. (Largest one in the bag on the right) so I know the one in the bag on the left is a male approx 2.5 yrs old now... The striped one is 6mo or so younger.

Yes the pictures of your examples are very enlightening and confusing at the same time lol.

I have 2 small angels in my 10 gal and will have to wait a good while before I can know what sexes I got.

 

[bizaliz3]

So do I have to wait until they breed to know? How would I check the breeding tube? I still have the 2 on the left since I lost the female. (Largest one in the bag on the right) so I know the one in the bag on the left is a male approx 2.5 yrs old now... The striped one is 6mo or so younger.

Yes the pictures of your examples are very enlightening and confusing at the same time lol.

I have 2 small angels in my 10 gal and will have to wait a good while before I can know what sexes I got.View attachment 520232

Yes, sometimes you never know 100% for sure until you get an actual spawn. But usually you can see the hint of a breeding tube once they are mature...and are able make a pretty accurate guess. Some angels are tricky though!

Question though....the ones in the bags...you said the one on the left is the male and the one on the right was the female??? that is interesting...based on that photo, I would have guessed the other way around if I was told that was a proven pair. The one on the right looks much more male than the one on the left. Are you positive you didn't have that backwards?

 

[CyndiLove]

Yes, sometimes you never know 100% for sure until you get an actual spawn. But usually you can see the hint of a breeding tube once they are mature...and are able make a pretty accurate guess. Some angels are tricky though!

Question though....the ones in the bags...you said the one on the left is the male and the one on the right was the female??? that is interesting...based on that photo, I would have guessed the other way around if I was told that was a proven pair. The one on the right looks much more male than the one on the left. Are you positive you didn't have that backwards?

Hi. They told me at the fish store the female was the bigger one and they were a 2 yr old breeding pair. The other 2 get along well and I was told if they start killing the other fish that means they're preparing to lay eggs. Is that true in some cases? So I have been watching for behavior changes. I would be ok if they were both males lol. I have 2 smaller angels and can wait awhile for breeding challenges... I just got hired into a new 3rd shift job.

 

[hollyjo1oh]

Hello. I new to keeping angels. Could someone tell what sex my angels are? Thanks

 

[JRG]

He's so male

 

[Coptapia]

Hello. I new to keeping angels. Could someone tell what sex my angels are? Thanks

If you read the thread you’ll realise that... no, we can’t.

 

[SarahBear1009]

Yes, sometimes you never know 100% for sure until you get an actual spawn. But usually you can see the hint of a breeding tube once they are mature...and are able make a pretty accurate guess. Some angels are tricky though!

Question though....the ones in the bags...you said the one on the left is the male and the one on the right was the female??? that is interesting...based on that photo, I would have guessed the other way around if I was told that was a proven pair. The one on the right looks much more male than the one on the left. Are you positive you didn't have that backwards?

How old do you think this one is? I have 4, all the same size. Plan to wait and see if any pair off, and will either rehome the rest once they do, or perhaps add them to a tank that is just about done cycling.
How old are they when they start pairing off??

 

[Todayisrainy]

Please help me to recognize what gender is of my fish
Black onemarble one
I try to photo marble one’s tube so that you might easier to tell the gender of it
And this two fish I think is a couple because they often take the right side of the tank and they both have a strong territorial even to peck the other fish time to time

 

[LHAquatics]

Please help me to recognize what gender is of my fish

I try to photo marble one’s tube so that you might easier to tell the gender of it
And this two fish I think is a couple because they often take the right side of the tank and they both have a strong territorial even to peck the other fish time to time

I think they are both females

 

[SpottedKit329]

This is very helpful info for Angelfish owners

 

[inari]

Wow thank you for this thread! I just recently picked up two more angelfish for my 55 gallon tank. I know have 4 (Lucifer - Black Marble, Gabriel - Silver w/ black stripes, Raphael - Koi, and Micheal - Yellow on top with a silver body).

I noticed Micheal picking at one of the leaves on my Amazon Swords, I think 'he' might be a she, but given that I have 4 Angelfish I think statistically, at least one of them is the opposite gender of the others. I am waiting to see if I get a spawn out of them or not though.