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I just bought a new Pearl Gourami which I thought was a male when I saw it in the store, but now I'm not so sure.

I already have a female, and the new ones dorsal fin is a bit longer and more pointy, but now that I look at pictures on the internet, they show a huge difference between male and female.


Here's the picture I am using to compare

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1957&articleid=2578
Do all male gouramis look like that, or is it just breeding adults? Could it just be that I have a young male, (he's around 2 inches) and he'll look like that when he's older?

I would appreciate any help you could give me, thanks!

(I would love to be able to just show you guys a picture, but I've never been able to take a picture of my fish that wasn't completely blurry)

Do all male gouramis look like that, or is it just breeding adults?

you are right, the picture you are using as an example is a full grown, most likely breeding, male.
Sexing can be pretty difficult at such a young age, but the pointed, longer dorsal fin is a characteric of only male pearl gouramis, so i would have to say that it's most likely a male.

Hello Kaytee,
sounds to me that you are describing a juvie male, with the pointed dorsal fin, with the females the dorsal will be more rounded ( a trait for most of, if not all Trichogasters ) As far as fin size... probably more a matter of genetics and health.
As they get older, the colors will come in better, of course the males will be a bit more intense.

hope this helps,
J.

That photo is in my opinion an excellent male in full breeding mode note the colouration.

The best looking point is the pointed fin as only the males have that and it can be picked at a stage of their early growth.

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Keith

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One way to look for a male, is to find one that has a dorsal fin that goes to or past the base of the caudel fin. Whether it be rounded or pointed, females never reach the base of the caudel fin. In some cases with many males together, you may only have one dominant male that has a really large dorsal. The other males may have them nipped down by the dominant one.

This is how I sex mine. If looking for a male, don't get one unless the dorsal goes past the base of the caudel.

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