Another Round Of Sex My Angel

I don't know if it is just my Angel's or if they all like to keep their owners on their toes. I totally thought I had a few of my 10 month old Angels sex figured out and then this one decides to play some games with me.
S/he is a golden whom I was 90% sure was a Male but yesterday it looked as if s/he was gravid and then I saw the breeding tube and this is what I saw....




And yes the pictures above are from the same fish and the pictures are taken seconds apart from each.

 

Lol, I can help but I need a picture of the full fish.

 

Lol, I can help but I need a picture of the full fish.

Thanks.

Here's a picture of the angel in question.

 

Thanks.

Here's a picture of the angel in question.

View attachment 450406 View attachment 450407

Yep that’s a male for sure! He’s beautiful! I can’t explain the “ gravid spot” though. He has the body shape of a male and the tube may not have fully dropped/formed and that’s why it almost looks like a female. I think you have a male though.

 

It is a female by the breeding tube and shape of the belly. Shape of body counts for nothing with these fish, males have a very obvious j shaped tube that they aren't pulling it back in - a female can push theirs out but unless they are getting ready to lay it is not fully extended which can make it look odd. A female's breeding tube (egg tube) is going to be rounded and look like the end of a pencil (eraser), since you fish has shown the tube to be wider and not j shaped (so the tube is not fully extended), it is female.

 

How old is the angelfish?

It is a female by the breeding tube and shape of the belly. Shape of body counts for nothing with these fish, males have a very obvious j shaped tube that they aren't pulling it back in - a female can push theirs out but unless they are getting ready to lay it is not fully extended which can make it look odd. A female's breeding tube (egg tube) is going to be rounded and look like the end of a pencil (eraser), since you fish has shown the tube to be wider and not j shaped (so the tube is not fully extended), it is female.

I find the best way to tell a male and female angelfish apart is by the body shape, fins, and as a last resort breeding tube. Depending on the age you can tell by the breeding tube but since we don't know the age yet, you should go by fins and body shape. With that being said if you go by fins and body shape its a male.

I don't know if it is just my Angel's or if they all like to keep their owners on their toes. I totally thought I had a few of my 10 month old Angels sex figured out and then this one decides to play some games with me.
S/he is a golden whom I was 90% sure was a Male but yesterday it looked as if s/he was gravid and then I saw the breeding tube and this is what I saw....
View attachment 450370 View attachment 450371

And yes the pictures above are from the same fish and the pictures are taken seconds apart from each.

If you have another female you can always put her in the tank and see what happens. if they chase each other but don't fight you have a female, if they fight a little or breed then you have a male. That would be if you have tried everything else and your still unsure.

 

If you have another female you can always put her in the tank and see what happens. if they chase each other but don't fight you have a female, if they fight a little or breed then you have a male. That would be if you have tried everything else and your still unsure.

That's not true at all, females will spawn with each other. Females will spawn by themselves. Females pick their mate and reject them as well. Sometimes this frustrates male because she refuses to spawn with him.

Angelfish are not sexually dimorphic so you will see fish that look female but are male, and ones that look male but are female. Unless is has a very large nuchal hump you can't say it is male unless the tube is j shaped, even if it is a fat j, it will still be j shaped.

 

Mcasella is right on. Definitely looks like a female who hasn't fully extended her breeding tube.
She is also right on about the fact that the behavior described above is also no way to tell sex. And most importantly, body shape has almost nothing to do with gender. Unless we are talking about a ungodly large head hump, which this fish does not have and many males do not have either.

I find the best way to tell a male and female angelfish apart is by the body shape, fins, and as a last resort breeding tube. Depending on the age you can tell by the breeding tube but since we don't know the age yet, you should go by fins and body shape. With that being said if you go by fins and body shape its a male.

This couldn't be any further from the truth actually. In fact it's entirely backwards. The breeding tube is not the last resort, it is the ONLY resort for 100% accuracy. And if they are too young to show a breeding tube, they are certainly way too young to attempt to judge their gender by body shape or fins. (Which is the least accurate way to do it anyway) Heck, in my experience, the boys are showing their little skinny tubes before they are even half dollar sized. Its the females who take along time, and some never show their tubes until they are just about to lay eggs.

I have had over 20 pairs over the last few years and almost never has the body shape been a true teller of gender.

 

Thanks everyone.

I guess I need to find this little girl a Male to spawn with once I get my breeding tanks setup. So far she has rejected all of the males I have with her, but she is in a community tank so that may have something to do with it. Come to think of it I do have a male with almost identical to her markings in another tank, hes in a grow out tank until I figured out what to do with him.

She has become very territorial, pushing the other 5 Angel's to one side of the tank. If worse comes to worse and I have to move her I do have a bin I use as a temporary tank when needed. I'm assuming I would need to add the 2 of them at the same time to avoid aggression issues?