Sex of angelfish?

[grace130994]

This is my first time with angelfish so I'm not sure whether they are old enough to tell yet... But my other concern was I know they pair off to breed... But if they are both male/female will they still get along and live together fine?

I researched online and I found lots of different ways to tell their sex but they all seemed to contradict each other... Please help

 

[absolutangel04]

There is not a reliable to way to tell them apart by looking at them. The only sure-fire way to know genders is to actually see them spawning. In theory, males get a bit of a hump on their forehead, but that characteristic is not totally reliable.
I know this is vague, but whether they get along or not is dependent on the individual fish. Generally speaking, 2 of the same gender should get along just fine. However, angels can be pretty feisty, so there are no guarantees. Don't worry about it unless you see nipped fins, missing scales, excessive hiding, or bullying.

 

[jetajockey]

Males are often larger than females but as mentioned, its not that reliable. If you grow out a batch from fry you may get a knack for it, but if shopping at a lfs it can be a crap shoot.

Males tend to become dominant (usually just one per small tank) as they get older, especially in the presence of a female.

 

[grace130994]

Thank you! It helps to know if you can't really tell rather then me sitting for hours trying to work out their sex from characteristics etc

 

[Liz_H]

They're beautiful!

 

[grace130994]

Thank you!

 

[Andy Sager]

Sexing Angels

This is my first time with angelfish so I'm not sure whether they are old enough to tell yet... But my other concern was I know they pair off to breed... But if they are both male/female will they still get along and live together fine?

I researched online and I found lots of different ways to tell their sex but they all seemed to contradict each other... Please help

First off, the fish pictured look a bit small to be breeding yet so it's not really a concern as yet. As mentioned in the earlier posts, the only 100% way of telling is to watch them spawn. Just make sure that you see both fish deposit their goods and don't assume that if one is laying eggs the other is the male. The first pair I ever had breed were 2 females
Once the fish are about a med/lg in size, this is the method I've used with about 95% accuracy:
Looking from the side, the anal fin of a female will start further back from the anus and when fully stretched, will be approx at a 45 degree angle. The male's anal fin will start almost at the anus and lay almost at 75 degrees. Also, if you look at the fish prior to feeding, the female will be more rounded in the abdominal area due to the eggs. It's easier to see this from above until you train your eyes to what to look for. There is one caviate to this, with all the inbreeding that has been done over the years, the angle of the fins may not be exact anymore but the placement of the first spine is what I use mostly. Remember, I am using this on larger fish that have fully matured even tho they are still growing. Smaller fish are too unreliable to use this method. With smaller fish, you just put a half dozen or so in a tank and let them mature and pair off naturaly.

If you are planning to purchase more larger fish for breeding, study the tank for a while and you should be able to see which fish have paired off. Usually the male will be fending off suiters to a female or protecting a certain spot in the tank for himself and his mate. You'll see the male chasing all the fish in the tank but 1 (the female.) Don't be concerned that the fish didn't grow up together. I've selectively paired numerous adult angels resulting in successful spawns.

If you'd like more personal help, feel free to PM me.

Hope this helps...

 

[grace130994]

Thank you! Lots of great info I'm not too bothered about them breeding but they were a present off my gran and she got me two therefore they don't have the choice of pairing off haha! I would get more but I wouldn't want to get too many for my tank that I have them in at the moment, I was hoping that this wouldn't be a problem for them?

 

[Mckitrick]

Ok it looks to me the first one is male and tue other one is female