female A. sp. Miua

[blueblue]

It is a wild caught fish.
I feel that it is a female A. sp. Miua
BUT i am not very sure. May you please
advise what you think it is? Thanks.

P.S.: Some of my friends think it is
Paucisquumis, or even Mendzi (with dotted caudal fin).

 

[Mike Wise]

It is a nice photo, but not really good for ID purposes. It might be a female or young male A. sp. Miuá.

 

[blueblue]

It is a nice photo, but not really good for ID purposes. It might be a female or young male A. sp. Miuá.

Thanks much Mike; btw, how would you tell the difference between a male
and a female miua? For me, i would look at the anal fin.

 

[Mike Wise]

Yes, you are correct. When young the 2 sexes look virtually identical. Then the males have broad blue-white stripes in the anal fin. The phot on the bottom right (page 99) of the DATZ publication shows a young male without extended dorsal or ventral spines.

 

[blueblue]

Yes, you are correct. When young the 2 sexes look virtually identical. Then the males have broad blue-white stripes in the anal fin. The phot on the bottom right (page 99) of the DATZ publication shows a young male without extended dorsal or ventral spines.

i see; Thanks again, Mike ^.^

 

[Arcadianred]

Mike (or anyone else!),

I have been searching through some of the old posts and have come across this one and also another one relating to the ID of female Miua. The first picture in this post shows a miua with striping/spotting in the caudal and from the responses I had presumed mine (1 mine and for 1 Microman) were young females as they have this pattern. Having looked at another post you mention the differences between Miua and Mendezi females but clearly state that Miua females have clear caudal fins.

I am a little confused now as both my 'females' do have striping/spotting in the caudal (slightly stronger than the one in this thread). Am I now to presume that they are males? I will get pictures to confirm further if you require them. (the females were part of 2 pairs which were imported a couple of months ago - superb fish by the way)

Thanks

Mark

 

[Mike Wise]

Mark,

How large are your fish? If your fish are under 1½"/3.5 cm, then wait until they mature a bit more. A. sp. Miuá females can have pale to moderately dark stripes on the tail, depending on age/size & mood. Look closely (heck, not even closely) at the pattern on the anal fin. On males the anal fin shows alternating dark and light colored stripes that run roughly parallel with the rays in the fin. On females, the anal fin might have some color, but there is no striped pattern at all. I had been looking for a male for my female for the past 4 years. Sadly, old age caught up with her earlier this year.

 

[Arcadianred]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the clarification. I had got the 'pairs' about 6 to 8 weeks ago and had not taken too much notice of the 'females' as they were smaller than the males and also in this post it indicated that striping in the tail was possible. The other 'clear caudal' post I found alerted me to look at them a lot more closely.

I have atached the pictures for you to have a look at and confirm, but i now presume that these are pictures of two small males. Could you confirm if correct please. The pistures have really brought out any colour in the anal fin and in the flesh they look a lot less coloured and any stripes (or spotting actually) is hardly noticeable. (must admit I am more than a little disappointed ). The bigger males I have are superb and its a real shame they will have to wait for partners now.


Many Thanks

Mark

Fish1a

Fish1b

Fish1c

Fish2a

Fish2b

Fish2c

 

[Mike Wise]

I'm sorry to say that they all look like males to me (although I can't see the anal fin in photo 2 that well).

 

[Microman]

Ive also given Mark the bad news Mike... Suffice to say we are both gutted as i had a breeding tank waiting for my pair to go in this next weekend.
This is a species not seen in the UK so females are not easy to come by but the importer has told Mark we will get some in the near future from his Brazilian contact, Fingers crossed....
Mark...