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A lot of Discus keepers keep wondering or asking how to tell the genders of their fish, the honest answer is it is really hard to tell until they totally mature and or start breeding. At most you can really only guess which is male and female. If the fish could talk they would be able to tell us as they know, but we can only go on ways that have been tried and nearly correct. There are a few ways in which good breeders try to determine the gender.

AGE OF MATURITY

Most discus age differently when it comes to maturity,

Browns 12-14 months
Ghost 16-18 months
Turks 12-14 months
Goldens 12-14 months
snakeskin 9-11 months
pigeon bloods 12-15 months
Blue Diamonds 12-24 months

We are then able to observe the Ovipositor (breeding tube or genitals), and see the differences between the fish. The differences between male and female are:

MALE : The genitals are shorter, rounded and conical in shape.

FEMALE : The genitals are Longer, tear shaped and are large and stumpy.

We are able to see the physical differences easier as well by checking the dorsal and anal fins, colour and pattern differences, and over all size of the fish.

MALE : The dorsal and anal fins tend to be more pointed, but not always, the colour seems less intense but they have more pattern and they are larger in size.

FEMALE : The dorsal and anal fins tend to me more shorter and rounded, colour is more intense but the pattern is less, and they are smaller than the male.

Some breeders have noticed that aslo using geometry they can draw lines from the tip of the dorsal and anal fins across the tail area to see where the cross over is, and if it crosses through the middle of tail its female if it crosses through the edges of the tail then the fish is male. Check this link http://www.aquaworldnet.com/dbws/sexingdiscus.shtml

There is one other way and that is to "vent" the fish, by turning fish on its side and squeezing just above the vent I dont recommend this as is stress's the fish out too much, and is it really worth running the risk of losing the fish just because you wondered what sex the fish is??

What ever way you deceide to do it you can never be 100% certain, the only way to be 100% is to see them spawn.

Trace



[span class="edited"][Edited by trace-russ 2004-03-19 19:46][/span]


[span class="edited"][Edited by trace-russ 2004-03-19 19:48][/span]

[span class="edited"][Edited by trace-russ 2004-04-14 03:16][/span]

thanx trace the pair of blue diamonds r just over 2 years old so they r marure and will be able to lay fetile eggs? also thanx for all the info u have given me over the past few days



[span class="edited"][Edited by Clown_Loach_Kid 2004-08-30 16:03][/span]

6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

Neil you are very welcome, if we learn from each other we can only be better fish keepers in the long run.

Trace

Gee trace, you must be reading my mind. I saw the "geometry" site that you linked to the other day and thought, "That would be good info to post here!" Well, you did and I thank you. It's hard to tell yet, but it appears that of the eight juvies that I have, I have mostly males. There are a few that appear to be female though and hopefully that is the case.

MALE : The genitals are shorter, rounded and conical in shape.

FEMALE : The genitals are shorter, tear shaped and are large and stumpy.

Both say shorter, so which one is shorter!!??

oops have corrected it.

Trace

thank you. I was confused as to which one was shorter. I figured they are like angels and the female's was longer/males shorter, but i wanted you to see that. thanks again.

Does anyone has a photo of the complete side of a male and female??

The "geometry method" applied perfectly to all 4 my adults. I had 1 proven pair cobalts, 1 proven female red turk, and 1 male blue. I unfortunately had to sell them due to a move, but now that we are settled in I have started up again. Once my new 2 juvies mature, I will see if it still holds true, but looking like 2 females so far.....good excuse to go shopping for a male.