i tried but i don't think i got it right

[headbanger_jib]

i picked up 2 salvinis for my spare 30g tank
now one of them i think is a female might not be one as the other on ekeeps chasing her/him around the tank
can you guys tell me whether its a male or a female that i think is a female*whoa that itself was confusing
here are a few pics to help

 

[HerCrenVie]

Female. Look out for that blue/black spot on the operculum, because males can sometimes have the black blotch in the dorsal fin.

 

[japes]

It's a Male.

Females always have dark black spot(s) on the gill cover, as well as a black blotch/front section on the Dorsal fin. Males often have markings on the gill plate (which are less distinct than Females) but no black in their dorsal fin.

Edit: My reasoning is the lack of any black in the dorsal fin, time may prove otherwise when it's colours settle down.

 

[johnny_1993]

nice sal. Japes has answered your question.

 

[headbanger_jib]

they keep fighting all the time
and the one whose pic i have put up is the smaller one and always is chased around by the bigger one, which is for sure a male
or do the male and female of salvinis also fight a lot

 

[killerfish]

not sure at first i was going to say female but not sure might be male

wouldn't matter to much if it was male or female they may chase each other either way would be more intense if it was 2 males could be the male doesn't like the female (if it is a female) if thats the case then give them time and if the male doesn't worm up to her seperate them and plump up the female and try agian and hopefully a pair will form

 

[headbanger_jib]

thank you

 

[HerCrenVie]

It's a Male.

Females always have dark black spot(s) on the gill cover, as well as a black blotch/front section on the Dorsal fin. Males often have markings on the gill plate (which are less distinct than Females) but no black in their dorsal fin.

Edit: My reasoning is the lack of any black in the dorsal fin, time may prove otherwise when it's colours settle down.

His fish has a black patch in the dorsal. It's simply pale from stress. I did say that the black spot (usually ringed with blue) on the operculum is an indication of female. And yes, "operculum" = "gill cover", in case you haven't realised. Males can have black in the dorsal. There was a thread here a few months back in which I ID'ed a particular Sal as female because of the black in the dorsal but it turned out to be a male, siring a brood of fry. Also, I've kept many Salvinis over the years. My last one, a 5" male, had black in the dorsal when he was 1" all the way till he was 2.5" or so, after which it faded.

 

[HerCrenVie]

they keep fighting all the time
and the one whose pic i have put up is the smaller one and always is chased around by the bigger one, which is for sure a male
or do the male and female of salvinis also fight a lot

There is a lot of conspecific aggression in Salvinis. Males will fight females over territory and vice versa.

 

[japes]

His fish has a black patch in the dorsal. It's simply pale from stress. I did say that the black spot (usually ringed with blue) on the operculum is an indication of female. And yes, "operculum" = "gill cover", in case you haven't realised. Males can have black in the dorsal. There was a thread here a few months back in which I ID'ed a particular Sal as female because of the black in the dorsal but it turned out to be a male, siring a brood of fry. Also, I've kept many Salvinis over the years. My last one, a 5" male, had black in the dorsal when he was 1" all the way till he was 2.5" or so, after which it faded.

Still looks Male to me, I see little dark colouration in the dorsal apart from perhaps the first photograph, but thanks for the high-horse lecture regarding my use of an easily distinguishable common name to refer to a part of a fishes anatomy.

Males can also have the markings on the operculum, by the way, they're usually less distinct and tend to be primarily fluorescent blue as opposed to the solid black blotch on females.

Time will tell, as was stated in the edit in my previous reply that you felt the need to reiterate, I can see it's rather pale.