A. Panduro Sexing

[KubotaiGuy]

Hi, I'm new to owning Apistos and recently picked up 4 from my LFS. I initially only bought 2, but it wasn't clear if we got one of each sex so we picked up 2 more in the interest of returning the 2 we didn't need. The problem is that neither I or the LFS can accurately sex them. I know one is for sure a male but the other ones are a toss up. I also learned that apistos males can change color to imitate a female in the presence of a bigger male so I'm at a loss. Any help is very much appreciated.

 

[rasmusW]

Hey!
First one is male. Last three is females.

-r

 

[Mike Wise]

The 3rd and probably the 4th are female. The 2nd is a poor specimen female (no breast-band) of a juvenile male. Personally I would wait until 2 formed a breeding pair. Panduros can be a bit choosy about with whom they breed.

 

[KubotaiGuy]

The 2nd is a poor specimen female (no breast-band) of a juvenile male.

Thank you for the reply! Could you elaborate on this?

 

[Mike Wise]

OK, there are 2 different patterns on female A. panduro. One is a large more or less round blotch toward the bottom midway along the body of the fish. The other is what is called a 'Brustband or Breast-band', which is an elongated blotch that extends from the bottom of the fish all or most of the way to the dorsal fin. Males do not show either pattern on their body. At most they will show a lateral spot midway on the body. The fish in photo #2 shows neither form of female blotch, which is too often seen on domestically bred panduro females that are not properly culled. This is why I wrote that is appears to be "a poor specimen female (no breast-band)". I must add that 1 photo is not really adequate to say anything about this, but based only on the available photo I personally would not use it for breeding.

 

[KubotaiGuy]

OK, there are 2 different patterns on female A. panduro. One is a large more or less round blotch toward the bottom midway along the body of the fish. The other is what is called a 'Brustband or Breast-band', which is an elongated blotch that extends from the bottom of the fish all or most of the way to the dorsal fin. Males do not show either pattern on their body. At most they will show a lateral spot midway on the body. The fish in photo #2 shows neither form of female blotch, which is too often seen on domestically bred panduro females that are not properly culled. This is why I wrote that is appears to be "a poor specimen female (no breast-band)". I must add that 1 photo is not really adequate to say anything about this, but based only on the available photo I personally would not use it for breeding.

Thank you for the clarification!