Guide to sexing RTM? Festae?

[Skurj]

Anyone have a guide with pictures to help sex juvie RTM?

I have 6 of them in a 180g right now, and want to sex as soon as I can before they get too aggressive and possibly start killing each other off.. end result I want to keep maybe a couple females and that's it, I can't spare the whole tank to a breeding pair.

Also have to do the same with a group of 7 festae I have in another tank, want to choose a couple females and put them in the 180g as well, and sell off the remainders of both the RTM and the Festae.

 

[decoy50]

I've had a group of RTM growouts for a couple months now, once they hit around 2.5in m/f will be very easy to tell. Females will get the darker red.

 

[duanes]

At 3", to me, motags all look alike, 3" one below

but soon females, as below

males

festae young

older females

older male

 

[Acubillos19]

One of the easier ways I have come accross to tell the difference on male and female rtms is they have a very distinct pattern on their gill plate at around 3 to 4 inches. .
Festaes on the other hand are more tricky they show a little later in my experience with them. My female had black dorsal fins when my male did not at their smaller sizes around 4 inches.
If you go through some of my threads I do have progression photos of my old
RTM PAIR and Festae pair I had both pairs from when they were juvis! And have threads on both of them.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Skurj]

Thanks

I am noticing a few of my RTM have the classic tear drop and black spot on the gill plates while others do not, is that any indication at all? (mine are all small, with the largest not 3" yet) The festae the only differences I can tell at the moment is that some are bigger than others... again even the largest isn't 3" yet.