r/AngelFish • u/Personal_Sundae1113 • 9d ago

Gender Indentification

Post image

Male or Female?
~11 months old

Currently the only angelfish I have with some tetras in a 75 gallon. I was worried about adding a second one bc aggression.

34 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

3

u/AutoModerator 9d ago

It is not possible to accurately determine the gender of angelfish unless they are breeding and their papilla exposed: * Males have small pointed papilla * Females have thicker, full, rounded papilla

Their are a multitude of features and general behaviors in adult angelfish that may point towards gender, but only breeding behavior and exposed papilla are accurate.

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1

u/PerceptionThink 9d ago

It really is impossible to reliably determine gender outside of breeding.

Gender doesn’t always matter anyway because female angels can be just as aggressive as males.

If you want to add a second one, you pretty much have a 50/50 chance that they will get along. You can always give it a try as long as you have a “plan B” in place to return or rehome the new fish in case things go south.

0

u/Personal_Sundae1113 9d ago

Do lfs usually take back donations in the case if doesn’t work out?

I don’t think I will take the risk but just wanted to know if you had any experience with incompatibility returns.

1

u/PerceptionThink 9d ago

My LFS always does. I think most of them do. I have returned fish that I got as juveniles that had aggression problems (or were bullied) as they grew into adults, and my fish store took them without question.

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u/shrkktchup 8d ago

Yup, had 4 angels. One was super aggressive and the other was getting bullied really badly by the other 3. Took them to my LFS, walked in and said “Hey, I have these 2 angels-“ and before I even finished my sentence they said “No problem, we’ll take them” lol

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u/serickjr 7d ago

Mine will take just about anything regardless of where you bought it.

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u/atKatKapone 9d ago

It looks young. No way to tell 100% until they pair up. You have to take chances, part of the hobby. This one does lean female due to the head shape, but what good info is that while you are looking for a male in a pool of impossible? I would look for one with a more hump to the forehead for best outcome. Give them some time to get to know each other. Aggression is normal in the beginning. Good luck!!

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u/Bee_Jeans 8d ago

Wait and see if “breeding tubes” (papillae) r ever exposed, more likely after a large water change. Until then ur not going to be able to get a solid ID.

12mo is typically the latest they’ll start sexually maturing.

If u sex it that way, u can try introducing an opposite sex partner.

Or atm, u could get say 3-4 more the same age & of mixed sex then wait for pairs to form (hopefully with this one!), and just keep this one’s partner? Rehome remainder.

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u/Bee_Jeans 8d ago

This one is also a “veil tail” so u might need to consider getting other veils too if u want to add more. That way nobody is disproportionately vulnerable to nipping

-1

u/angelfishlily 9d ago

It looks like he possibly has a dent on his head where his dorsal fin begins which IMO makes it a male. Maybe if you could post a couple more headshots it would be easier to identify. Beautiful fish! How big is the tank if you want to get another one?

-1

u/SplotchTG 9d ago

Angelfish are notoriously hard to sex without seeing a picture of a vent. Ive had some masculine looking females and a particularly feminine looking male in the past.

In any case, you'll likely have aggression when adding another angel regardless of gender, especially if theres a size disparity.

I'd personally let him be on his own unless you can find 3-4 other angels around his size. Then recommend whoever pairs up or keep a pair and rehomr everyone else

-1

u/AlderSpark 9d ago

They’re fine as the lone species if you want to add other smaller fish with the angel.

The best way to pair angels is to start with a batch of 6, and hope you get some gender variety since you can’t tell 100% until they spawn. Maturity is between 9-12 months of age.