gephyra male or female?

[raymond82]

Hi,

Last week I bought a trio of gephyra's but I'm wondering if I don't have 2 males. One of them I think is obviously a male but the one in the foreground of the picture is the one I'm doubting about. The third one I think is a female, she has no clear lateral line but there is a lateral spot (I couldn't take a picture cause she's hiding a lot). I'll try to get better pictures up soon as possible, in the mean time it would help if someone could explain how to tell a male from a female...

Thank you!

 

[aquaticclarity]

Need to be able to see the ventral fins spread open as well as the tail but at first blush the fish resembles a female.

 

[raymond82]

Thanks! I finally found some time to take a few more pictures but it doesn't get much better. The fish com out readily when I sit in front of the tank but disappear quickly soon as I take the camera out...

at first blush the fish resembles a female.

What characteristic makes you suspect it's a female?

I'll keep trying to get even better pics!

 

[Mike Wise]

Adult females will have a round caudal fin with little or no markings. The ventral fins will be shorter. The posterior tips of the dorsal and anal fins will be rounded. The face will show few metallic blue markings.

 

[raymond82]

Thank you Mike, I've been studying them for a while and I think it's a female. It's interesting to see though that she seems to be somewhat in between the male and the other female when it comes to the characteristics you described.

 

[Mike Wise]

The photos aren't good enough to be certain of the sex. Then, again, it might be a "sneaker" male. Time will tell.

 

[raymond82]

Time will tell.

Unfortunately, today she looked a lot more like a male than yesterday....

 

[raymond82]

OK, I made up my mind. I took another close look at the fish while feeding and now I'm quite sure it's a female. The iridescence was just more prominent today than it was yesterday, but the ventral fins are clearly shorter, the caudal fin is more roundish and doesn't have the markings that the male has. What a relief!!