Sexing Juvenile A. Agassizii Tefe Pearl Blues

[Aquatic_Adam]

Hello Apisto people!

My friend and I recently purchased 6 juvenile (smallest is ~3/4 inch while the largest is ~1.25 inch) Apistogramma Agassizii Tefe Pearl Blues off of AquaBid. The fish came in very healthy but impossible to sex. I know they are probably too young to sex at this point in their lives, but what are some tips I should be keeping an eye out for in the coming months?

They are with my friend currently (in Florida), if I can get some pictures from him I will post them ASAP.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Some important details that my friend reminded me to put in here:

* He has determined that we have one for sure male
* One fish is showing no color and appears to be a subdominant male
* One fish has black all the way down the ventral fins and he believes it to be a female
* The remaining three have some black on the ventral fins, including the largest and most dominant fish in the tank
* The for sure male is geneally chsed away by all the others with the exception of the subdominant male

 

[Apistofan_Tony]

Hello all. Here are a few pictures - 5/6 fish are pictured. All but the most sub-dominant fish which I believe to be a male.

Picture #1: unknown sex.
Picture #2: 2 unknowns - the fish in the foreground has black all the way down the ventral fin leading my to believe it is a female.
Picture #3: dominant fish in the tank (unknown.)
Picture #4: blury picture, but of the fish I am 90% sure is a male.
Picture #5: another picture of the male.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Any help would be appreciated. Even if it's mostly about sexing standard Aggasizzi juveniles. We just need to know.

 

[Mike Wise]

They are too young for a truly positive guess. The more yellow fish is most likely a female and the fish with some weak pattern around the edges of the caudal fin might be a male, but I have females that show this at times. I think a bit of patience is needed.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Thank you very much!

What should we be keeping an eye out for down the road to properly sex them?

 

[Mike Wise]

Male will develop a light/dark/light pattern around the edge of the caudal fin. It will also start to develop the spade/lance shape, too. You will probably see these features before any of the others develop.