Male or Female Angel

[Mr. FishMan]

Hey Im pretty new to the site and also to the aquarium hobby.. I've had my 55 freshwater set up for about 5 months now and am just starting a 100 gallon saltwater. I Am looking forward to learning more and more everyday on this site and am hoping to really benifit from it. Right now I have 2 cobalt blue angels in my 55, one is a male for sure, but I'm not too sure about the other. Could anyone help me identify the sex of my Angel? Here's a few pics..

 

[armymp327]

i think sexing angels is impossible until they pair off and actually start mating, during the mating process you will be able to see 2 difference though i dont remember what they are.

 

[Mr. FishMan]

I've heard of being able to tell the gender is actually not too hard. I heard that the major differences are 1. the male has a larger hump on its head 2. the females bodies are more slanted between the anal and pelvic fins and the males are more horizontal. Im not 100% but that's just what I've read online and was told at my lfs.. I was told this when I got the assumed male who has the horizontal belly and the one I had at home already (shown in pic) seems to be more slanted.. but again I'm not %100 and that's why I'm asking on here! haha but thanks

 

[Mr. FishMan]

does anyone else have any idea? even a guess?

 

[Wiggles24]

Although some say its not reliable but with all my angels no exceptions the males have a noticeable bump on their heads. Now some are more obvious then others.

 

[Wiggles24]

I am leaning towards a girl

 

[spiketooth]

Picture 1 and 3, i say male but picture 2 makes it looks like a female

 

[spiketooth]

If you can get a straight side shot, i could give you a better guess. I have done alot of research on this becasue the angels i have

 

[Mr. FishMan]

here's some pictures I just took. You should know I had to take 50+ pics just to get these shots haha

 

[spiketooth]

I am leaning tords female.

 

[spiketooth]

This looks like a P. Altum. If this is so, someone tell me if i am wrong. You cant sex them untill they are ready to breed.

 

[Mr. FishMan]

what is a P. altum? when I got the fish they were labeled as Cobalt Blue Pearlscale. does the "P" stand for pearlscale?

 

[Alyxx]

what is a P. altum? when I got the fish they were labeled as Cobalt Blue Pearlscale. does the "P" stand for pearlscale?

That's the scientific name for a type of angelfish. Pterophyllum altum. And as has already been stated, it can be very hard to sex them until they are showing breeding tubes.

 

[spiketooth]

That's the scientific name for a type of angelfish. Pterophyllum altum. And as has already been stated, it can be very hard to sex them until they are showing breeding tubes.

Thanks for responding to that question. You explained it better then i could

 

[Rivercats]

Not all males get humps on their foreheads. I've kept angels for over 30 years and currently have 6 adult pairs in a 220g. Not all of the males have humps and the one thing I have learned is that the only 100% sure fire way to sex angels is to wait until they spawn and look to see what shape their breeding vents are. Males vents are like a sharpened pencil tip and females have a blunt tube that look more like a pencil eraser. Also the females tube is very easy to see when extended.

 

[Mr. FishMan]

thanks for all the input !