I am down to two Apist. borellis in my 55 discus tank. One is definately a male, he has that steel blue coloration and the very long fins. The other I am not sure what sex it is. It is a muddy brown color, its fins are not long, and it is much smaller in size. They are both the same age, it has never showed the bright yellow color of the female, but I wonder if this occurs after it has first spawned? Or is this a submissive male that will never mature as long as there is a dominant male around?
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Is this a male and femal A. borelli?
- Thread starter Orchid
- Start date
Neil
New Member
- Messages
- 1,583
- Location
- Sacramento, Ca.
Orchid,
The problem is that when you have a dominant male in the tank and another fish that you are unsure of, it becomes more difficult. Sub-dominant male can and have taken on many of the characteristics of a female of their species to avoid some of the aggression of the dominant male.
The yellow color would obviously be a give-away, but you can also use a number of other criteria. Does this fish have what looks to be a shorter dorsal fin? Does it have a black leading edge to the ventral fin? Many borellii males have more distinctive spotting on their faces. Does the other have less of that spotting than the male?
Neil
The problem is that when you have a dominant male in the tank and another fish that you are unsure of, it becomes more difficult. Sub-dominant male can and have taken on many of the characteristics of a female of their species to avoid some of the aggression of the dominant male.
The yellow color would obviously be a give-away, but you can also use a number of other criteria. Does this fish have what looks to be a shorter dorsal fin? Does it have a black leading edge to the ventral fin? Many borellii males have more distinctive spotting on their faces. Does the other have less of that spotting than the male?
Neil
Neil,
The smaller borelli does not have a black leading edge on the ventral fin, the dorsal fin isn't as long as the obvious male's, but it does have the turquoise freckles on the face that the male does have. There is one thing I just spotted that I hadn't noticed before, there are little round markings on the back of the ventral fin, they remind me of 'egg spots'. I am not sure if these are just random markings or an indicator towards a sex. The obvious male certainly doesn't have them, though.
The smaller borelli does not have a black leading edge on the ventral fin, the dorsal fin isn't as long as the obvious male's, but it does have the turquoise freckles on the face that the male does have. There is one thing I just spotted that I hadn't noticed before, there are little round markings on the back of the ventral fin, they remind me of 'egg spots'. I am not sure if these are just random markings or an indicator towards a sex. The obvious male certainly doesn't have them, though.
- Messages
- 691
- Location
- Sisters, Oregon
Sounds like the ole sneaker male to me!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, that is what I thought. For those of you wondering what a sneaker male is, he is a male that waits on the sideline. He doesn't want to risk confrontation with the dominant male so he doesn't seem to mature fully. But if the dominant male should lose his power, the sneaker male will dive in, quickly mature and take the dominant male position. Or, if the dominant male has another dominant male to contend with, the sneaker male will 'sneak' in and woo the female while the other males are occupied with each other.
