Hi everyone! Sorry my first post here is asking for sexing help. I appreciate any advice you can give.
I ordered a pair of A. cacatuoides Triple Red from a breeder online in hopes of breeding them myself. They were listed as young juveniles, so I expect they have some more developing to do and sexing may still be difficult. Now that I've had them for a little bit and they should have been able to settle in, I'm noticing that the larger one with some color isn't exhibiting the male characteristics I've seen in other juvenile males during my research. The ventral fins are almost completely black with a spot of orange, they're actually a little shorter looking than the smaller apisto, the dorsal rays are shorter in the front, and the tail seems to have more rounded corners. This one also seems more yellow in the body. It looks a lot like the nicely colored females I've seen on other help threads here. They're the only fish in the tank besides a few otos for clean up.
I was able to take a couple photos of the one in question, but the other is always hiding after being chased away from the caves. The smaller one is pale, has no sign of orange/red at all, but the ventral fins seem a little longer and lighter? The way they behave together makes me wonder if I have two females with one being more dominant than the other. If that's the case, I think I might need to rehome the other. There's only so much researching can help with, and I feel like I'm going in circles, so now I'm turning to the experts! Thanks for any help you can provide!
I ordered a pair of A. cacatuoides Triple Red from a breeder online in hopes of breeding them myself. They were listed as young juveniles, so I expect they have some more developing to do and sexing may still be difficult. Now that I've had them for a little bit and they should have been able to settle in, I'm noticing that the larger one with some color isn't exhibiting the male characteristics I've seen in other juvenile males during my research. The ventral fins are almost completely black with a spot of orange, they're actually a little shorter looking than the smaller apisto, the dorsal rays are shorter in the front, and the tail seems to have more rounded corners. This one also seems more yellow in the body. It looks a lot like the nicely colored females I've seen on other help threads here. They're the only fish in the tank besides a few otos for clean up.
I was able to take a couple photos of the one in question, but the other is always hiding after being chased away from the caves. The smaller one is pale, has no sign of orange/red at all, but the ventral fins seem a little longer and lighter? The way they behave together makes me wonder if I have two females with one being more dominant than the other. If that's the case, I think I might need to rehome the other. There's only so much researching can help with, and I feel like I'm going in circles, so now I'm turning to the experts! Thanks for any help you can provide!
