Rainbow fish gender identification

[webmoose]

I have four boesemani rainbow's. 3 color up during the day and try to get attention from the 4th that tends to not color up. However when I turn on the lights in the morning all four are colored up purple and orange.

Do I have 4 males?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Sounds like it to me, but I'm not positive, I'm basing this on my own experiences. I had two australian rainbows, one male, one female. The female died from swim bladder, so the male was by its lonesome. It went like that for a couple of months, until I got 2 more rainbows, two more females. It has since colored up nicely and is very active. My guess is that you have 4 males, and perhaps the one that is not coloring up very well, is just aching for some female attention.... HTH

 

[webmoose]

I am not too concerned that it isn't coloring up as much as the others. It seems to be the more passive of the 4. The most assertive one really colors up and blasts all over the tank.

 

[madasafish]

In the Boesmani rainbowfish world, the males try to get attention from the females by courtship proceedures. They usually flare all of their fins simultaneously to attract her attention. Also, males have a stronger coloration. I'm guessing that you have 3 males and a female.

One last way of sexing the fish as they start to get older is by the slope of their head. Some males will develop a striking (some think it's ugly...) bump just above the gills--not like Frontosas and Flowerhorns, but a sort of discontinuity in the sloped lateral line of the head. Hard to describe.... How old are these fish? How large? If they are getting to full size, this feature should be getting more prominent. (It's not, however, as prominent as it would be on Red Iryans or Praecox Rainbows.)

HTH.

 

[webmoose]

ya they are shapped like the kind you have in your signature... I was hoping I could tell from bottom fin or something as well... I am not sure of age. To be honest I did not expect them to be coloring already. I now I am probably a broken record but the one doesn't color up durring the day and I swear the other 3 are courting it.

 

[webmoose]

in the picture I posted you can see the one flare its lower fin while the other colors up. At any rate thanks madasafish for recommending rainbows! They are as active as gourami's but not as agressive! I can't wait to slowly get a few more.

 

[madasafish]

OOh! Glad you are enjoying rainbows! How much did you pay for your Boesmanis? BTW, in case anyone was wondering, the name is pronounced "Boze-man-eye" not "Boze-maahn-ee" or any other variant. I pronounced it wrong for quite a while.

Moose, the rainbow on the left looks like a female, and that on the right looks like a male, judging by the color difference.

I think I got particularly lucky with this Boesmani I have right now. His color is phenomenal, even at 1.5". His anal fin has red and blue in it, his yellow half is covered with beautiful green irridescence, his cheeks with purple hues and his dorsal fin has a distinctive white line. I'll upload a couple of the pics to my gallery so you can see more detail. The avatar Photo <------- is a neat picture, but out of focus in its original form (shrinking it reduced this noticeably).

I think when I get my other Boesmanis, I'll get them from Rarefishatlax on aquabid.com. He seems to have some of the best strains of all rainbowfish in the US.

 

[webmoose]

I didn't realize you got BOESMANIS!!!! I saw the avatar photo but didn't want to assume it was a boesmanis and that it was YOURS! too cool!

Mine technically worked out to something like 7 dollar canadian each in the end for the four. (long story) I wish I could buy online like at Rarefishatlax. I think it would be supper cool to buy a mop of eggs. but at least Menagerie found me a wicked local fish store.. Just have to convince them to carry the 3 types rainbows I am interested in..

The one of the left is the one that the other three are flaring up for all day long.. Mine have very orange tails all the time and when they color up they add a dark purple to their front section.. One of them colors a really distinct blue around the edges....

I LOVE these fish!!! If I have no luck finding Ornate or AxelRod I will get some more Boesmanis.. I have 4.. I can't rush it too fast cuz I have to save up for a decent chunk of driftwood and some plants.

How many do you have?