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	congo tetras... 7 out of 8 females?
sham Ultimate Fish Guru Posts: 3369 Kudos: 2782 Votes: 98 Registered: 21-Apr-2004	I bought 8 congo tetras 2 months ago and only one has gained long fins. It's also nearly an inch bigger than the rest. I waited 3 weeks but the rest haven't caught up in size, color, or finnage if they are even growing still. Did I end up with 7 females? Is there a better way to tell than just length of fin and is there a way to tell when they are fully mature? Hopefully the store will trade me since the 7 look very poor when compared to the beautiful red congo male
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:38
aquatexan Banned Posts: 151 Votes: 1 Registered: 03-Aug-2004	THats basicly the only way to tell males from females. I guess you just got unlucky with the amount of m/f. How much were each one. Down here they are 12.99 a piece.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:38
bensaf Fish Master Posts: 1978 Kudos: 1315 Registered: 08-Apr-2004	Look at the caudal (tailfin) males have an rounded exstention that sticks out of the middle of the tail , kinda like this }. Even at an early age the males should be more colorful and longer fins. Keep some females as this makes the males color up much better. Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue. Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:38
sham Ultimate Fish Guru Posts: 3369 Kudos: 2782 Votes: 98 Registered: 21-Apr-2004	hmm.... mine kinda look like it goes in right there instead except the one. Unless I just can't see that light tail extension. Do the females have a different colored spot there too? Does 5male 3female work well? The fish store has some nice red congo males I'd like to trade for. It was $50 or so for all 8.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:38
bensaf Fish Master Posts: 1978 Kudos: 1315 Registered: 08-Apr-2004	Here's a bad pic of one of my males. You can see the tail extension very clearly, they also have a white edge. Females won't have this extension. bensaf attached this image: [img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/410036.jpg"] Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue. Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:38
greenmonkey51 Fish Master Posts: 1571 Kudos: 1692 Votes: 5 Registered: 28-Jan-2004	sounds like a lucky guy
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:38
sham Ultimate Fish Guru Posts: 3369 Kudos: 2782 Votes: 98 Registered: 21-Apr-2004	I know what males look like since I have one full grown. I'm wondering the difference between juvenile males and females. Mine all have a spot in the middle of their tail but it doesn't seem to extend out. In fact it looks like it goes in some unlike the one that has a huge tail extension. All the pictures of anything but a mature male look the same
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:38
Mr Fish Addict Posts: 573 Kudos: 304 Votes: 0 Registered: 17-Jul-2003	When looking at the juviniles look at the top fin. The males top fin is longer than the females.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:38
sham Ultimate Fish Guru Posts: 3369 Kudos: 2782 Votes: 98 Registered: 21-Apr-2004	Would help if they were all the same size but I believe their top fins are all short, their tails don't have any extension, and I have 7 females . Unfortunately my lfs decided they won't take them in trade even though I spent $50 on these fish and probably well over $100 total on their fish for my tanks.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:38
T/A Mega Fish Posts: 942 Kudos: 1796 Registered: 20-Feb-2004	7 to 1, that sounds like a good female to male ratio. Of course I'm a male, so I'm a little bias.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:38
sham Ultimate Fish Guru Posts: 3369 Kudos: 2782 Votes: 98 Registered: 21-Apr-2004	Wouldn't you get lonely with only females around you lol. Well they agreed to trade with me so I have more males now. The difference between a male and female congo at juvenile age is that the males have a light belly and a more reddish top while females are a solid color and generally yellowish. For anyone that wonders in the future.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:38


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