CPO Questions...

[AliGee]

Preferably people with actual CPO experience!


I have two CPO's that I bought as unsexed. When I received them three weeks ago they were the same size. One of them is for sure a male. His pleopods are very pronounced. They molted the same day and he grew significantly in only one molt. The other did not grow nearly as much and is now quite a bit smaller... They have very different personalities, the male likes to hide a lot while the "unsexed" is always adventuring around.

The last couple days the one I know is a male has darkened a lot in color. A very dark vibrant orange, which I read can happen around the time of breeding.

I have turned the unsexed over a few times and oddly I just cannot tell if its a male or female... I don't know if it's because it is still too small or what...

I read somewhere that sometimes females are mistaken as males.

Has anyone experienced mistaking a female for male?
Could their size difference now mean they are M/F?
How do your males act with other males and how do your males act with females?

They are in a heavily planted 20L and seem very healthy and happy.

Thanks!

Also - If anyone has a female CPO, I would greatly appreciate a picture of her underside. I have found a few pictures online but they just aren't doing justice.

 

[AliGee]

Also, the first picture is of the male molt. The second is of the unsexed.

 

[severum mama]

I never bothered to try and sex mine until I found berried females, lol. I didn't find any difference in the way they acted toward one another regardless of sex- they are a bit aggressive no matter what IME, just too small to do any real damage. If you happen to see one of yours on top of the other with the claws pinned down, they are mating. It looks rougher than it really is.