GBR gender

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Bmtiz92

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Sep 16, 2011
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Location
Memphis, TN
So I thought she was a girl...then I thought she was a he...Now I'm giving up and just asking. Also, is the EBR too young to sex?
 

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They are really nice fish! Where did you get them? Going from what I've learnt so far I'd guess the GBR is a male but don't quote me on it. Do the rams mix well then? How many do you have in total?
 
They are both actually petsmart saves, they didn't even know what the GBR was and had her in with a bunch of discus. She was scared to death in the store with the discus picking on her so I brought her home, I think they charged me like 3 dollars. The EBR was also a petstore save, same situation. I bought both the EBR's they had and hoped one would make it and I got lucky :) So far they both get on really well, but I also have lots of live plants so I don't know if that might help.
If it helps any, I've also noticed that the GBR is much smaller than the ones I've seen in stores, the EBR is still a juvenile.
 
Sorry, also only have the two. I want them to be all settled in first before I start adding anymore :)
 
Nice to hear they are doing so well after you took them in. They look really well now :)
 
Bmtiz92 said:
So I've got a vote for each...Anyone want to be a tiebreaker?
female. :) I can see dark areas on her belly, it is like a less transparent spot. I think those are eggs.
 
I'm 100% sure the GBR is a female. You can also clearly see the ovipositor and she will likely lay eggs within 10 days if you change the water every other day at a rate of 25-50%.

As for the EBR, the pics don't provide much detail. The only thing I have to go by is the length of the pelvic fins, and I believe it is a male.
 
Oh wow, awesome. Thanks so much! I'll try to get better pictures of the EBR, I just didn't know if he was too young to sex.
 
Here's more pics of the EBR, my camera has a hard time focusing on him/her. Also, the two seem to be hanging close to each other now when they didn't at first.
 

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EBR looks to be female as well. I thought the pelvic fins were longer but the side shots helped to clear this up. Looks like she is producing eggs too.
 
Yes, the orange spot is "normal" although I would guess that it isn't a "desirable" feature in this color morph. By that I mean hobbyists have bred the EBR for it's blue sheen on the body and they would try to maximize to coverage seen on a particular fish. They would take the EBR's with the most blue coverage and breed them with one another. Your fish is lacking a small amount of full coverage, but this will do nothing to take away from the health of the fish. It is simply something the breeder thought as a "flaw" to his future generations and passed it, and 90% of the other fish from the same spawn, onto a retailer. There is nothing wrong with it's colors.

They may be hanging out because no males are present to fight over them. Add a male and you will likely see him pair with one of the females and at that point the two would stop hanging around. I'm pretty certain the EBR is a female.
 
So...I'm pretty sure the EBR is actually a boy, or a really confused female. My GBR is laying eggs on a piece of fake driftwood (they found a flat spot) and the EBR protects the area while she lays, and then shimmys along tome of the eggs while she protects. They take turns, she lays eggs, he comes behind her and almost lays flat on them and slides across, i'm guessing fertilizing them? They're also sliding against each other on the driftwood piece. A girl can't possibly be THAT confused, right? What color will fertilized eggs be?
Actually, in the first picture at the top of the page, it's THAT piece of driftwood behind the moss where they've laid eggs.
 
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Sounds like I was wrong and should have trusted my initial judgement. It appears like you have a male and hopefully you will have fertilized eggs. It is possible that two females are spawning together and the EBR is making dry runs, but it sounds more like a male with your description. It's much harder to tell when you can't see the fish interact. If the eggs are fertilized, you will know in 12 hours or so when they aren't all white.
 
Ok, thanks :) I know they will probably eat them but this is still exciting! Should I go ahead and get a sponge for the filter, just in case?
 

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