Baby Gold Severum questions

[LunarValkyrie]

I recently bought 4 baby gold severums. I know they get color and such at around 4" or so. I was just wondering if the face markings appear any earlier so they can be sexed a little younger? These are truly babies...bodies are about quarter size (not counting any fin), but they are nice and bright yellow already and one has more pointed fins and a slight orange tint to his anal fin. If I hit him with a flashlight, "he" looks to have the squiggles on the face but its not really red yet. And he is larger than the others.

I guess my real question is when do these start to show the face markings? At what size? My goal is to get a pair. So approximately when should I really start looking at the faces to see if I have a shot at a male. I really don't see much on the other 3 faces at all.

I have really enjoyed these guys, as they settled easily in this tank (along with a small school of Congo Tetras) and they are active and run to the top at feeding time. I would love to eventually get a spawn from them in a year or so.

Thanks for any info/help given. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all!

 

[virgil2090]

I think mine started to show marks around 2-1/2 inches,had him since a half dollar size.seems harder with gold sevs because of the light coloration.here is a pic of mine

 

[DRteugelsi]

I'll second what Virgil2090 said! I had pretty much the same experience.

 

[LunarValkyrie]

Thanks folks! I am really enjoying these fish. They are a bit shy in that big tank right now, but I hope they will grow nice and big. They do come out to eat when they see me lift the lid.

And I have noticed if the lights are low, they are more active in the open with the tetra's. I can't wait to see if I might have a pairing in the four of them.