carpinte male or female?

[Jakob]

Got this carpinte a few weeks ago, sadly it is probbably stunted, as the previous owner said that its over a year old, he was underfed, in a small tank etc etc. He is starting to grow I think, now that he is eating well and has plenty of space.

Is it a male or a female?

 

[DBLN8]

Pretty fish! Looks male.

 

[Rivers2k]

I believe its female due to the dark spot on the dorsal fin.

 

[FriedFlowerHornFillet]

I vote female. Dark spot and more of a gentle slope than a squarish head. Very nice coloring on her btw. I recently rescued a carpintis that was labeled as a JD got it for 3.00. It was stunted, skinny and pale 4 months later it put on weight and size but it's still really washed out.

 

[fwprawn]

Female

 

[duanes]

I've been going back and forth to this thread all morning.
H carpintus are not speedy growers in my experience, so I wouldn't worry about size.
While I agree that the dark area in the dorsal is often an indication that it is a female, the slight break in the forehead profile and pointed fins are male traits.
And all the above traits can and often do, temporarily appear and disappear.
So I will post some pics to help muddy or un-muddy the waters even more.
Here is a female, note how gently the forehead slopes, and lack of significant pigment in the dorsal.

Below is a dominant male, note the steepness of the profile, and slight bulge above the eye.

even as juvies, these differences can be apparent when seen together

now for fins, note the blunt female fins below

now the male

 

[the animal guy]

I guess Male.


And about the black on Dorsal, All of Carpintis have a small hint of black there like that on and off depending what moodt , but females get a big dark one.

I think I have a female right now but no black on dorsal yet.

 

[Jakob]

Thank you for the inputs!

I have thought it to be a male rather than female myself, I decided to ask because of the black spot on the dorsal.
He has long fins and a steep head, those traits alone are rarely visible in females.

I will make a progression thread in a couple of months to see how he develops.

 

[Fish on Fire]

I would say male as well.