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Is He A She? Venustus


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#1 Fielding

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Posted 04 February 2017 - 12:39 PM

I purchased a male venustus a while back and im starting to think he is a she.
I thought i would have seen some colour by now as all the other fish are showing nicely, when i google males they look different and the typical pointy tail im yet to see which makes me think its a female.
Can anyone confirm or not?
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#2 humbug

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Posted 04 February 2017 - 12:59 PM

How big is it?  Assuming its got some size, I suspect its a female primarily based on the shape of the anal fin. 

Colour isn't necessarily a great indicator of sex if the fish isn't one of the more dominant fish in the tank.  I've had "sleeper" males on a few occasions - with a sub-dominant male avoiding confrontation by not displaying any colour. 



#3 Fielding

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Posted 04 February 2017 - 01:43 PM

Its about 4-4.5 inches, thats the thing its not dominated at all its one of the dominants if anything, generally gets left alone. I hav a sani spot and a sulfur head that have lost their colour, hoping something comes of them.
If it is a female is it ok to leave it in there?
Not fussed if it breeds, just let nature take its course but will if affect the behaviour of other fish mainly for colouring?


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#4 humbug

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Posted 04 February 2017 - 05:35 PM

At that size, I’d be relatively confident that you have a female.

 

Are you buying your fish from a shop or privately?  If you are buying coloured fish and getting them home to find they lose colour over a few weeks, they may well have been “juiced”.  These are fish that have been fed a “colour enhancing” food.  These foods not only “enhance” the colour of male fish, but also make females take on the colour of males.  Once the fish are off the food, they gradually lose their colour. 

 

I’m assuming you are running a display tank.  You will likely find that an all-male tank would run more harmoniously than one with a mix of males and females.  The females give the boys more to fight over.   The girls aren’t contributing to the colour in the tank, and are taking up the space that could be occupied by another colourful fish.  

 

If you do decide to keep females, please don’t remove any fry from the tank, as mixed community tanks tend to be a hot-bed for hybrids.  While most fry will likely get picked off by the adults in the tank, a small percentage will survive.  You will need to work out how you are going to deal with these.  Over time you may well end up with an increasing population of fish of doubtful parentage.  Having an all-male tank means you just don’t have to worry about that side of things.



#5 Fielding

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Posted 04 February 2017 - 07:32 PM

Yea i never intended on having any females only males for a display tank, the two fish that lost their colour were from a lfs but the venustus was privately.
I'd like to give the other guys a chance to show off a bit but its hard to get rid of her as she has been a good fish.
And do not fret people, if any fry were to come out they stay put, like i said before let nature take its course, maybe let one grow out for our own amusement.

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#6 Petert

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Posted 05 February 2017 - 11:11 AM

This was my male and about 15cm.

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#7 Fielding

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Posted 05 February 2017 - 01:01 PM

Nice fish!! They're the colours i was hoping for!!! I think its confirmed.

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#8 humbug

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Posted 05 February 2017 - 01:13 PM

If you are buying fish showing colour from a LFS thinking they are males, and then finding they aren’t, then I reckon it’s time to find another LFS.  Sorry, but in my opinion no shop should be selling "colour enhanced" fish without making it BLATANTLY clear to customers that the fish are juiced. 
 

I’ll be blunt - this practice generally involves lower quality fish, and it’s done purely to increase sales of fish.  In my mind it’s not that dissimilar to turning the odometer back on a car to make it more attractive to a potential buyer.   Thankfully there are still some shops around who find the practice abhorrent.  See if you can hunt one out.



#9 Fielding

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Posted 26 September 2017 - 07:50 PM

Well it's a female, has started laying eggs in the aquarium, so my question now is what to do, I don't see anyone fertilizing the eggs she's is just picking them up here and there if no-one else grabs them, do I consider moving her on or just let her do her thing, she is shuing everyone away from the area, going back and forth, thoughts?

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#10 Ageofaquariums

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Posted 27 September 2017 - 06:34 AM

Pretty much every lfs over here on the east side sells fish that are either coming in from wholesaler loaded with astax, or the lfs is feeding them astax foods in store. Cant remember the last time I saw a sign pointing it out but it was likely 10 years ago or so.



#11 Stormfyre

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Posted 27 September 2017 - 06:18 PM

Perhaps your fish is non-binary.. not yet identifying as male or female. You will have to now install a new bathroom in that tank until a time when your venustus is transitioned to it's choice?



#12 Chris Perth

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Posted 29 September 2017 - 07:44 PM

Humbug - When/if I get over to SA you and I will have to meet up for a Fish chat as you speak my language! Well stated can not disagree with anything you have said above. .




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