Sexing my Salvini

[jayclarke]

Hi can someone sex my Salvini for me please? Its about 1.5" and growing fast.

Sorry about the pic's the menace wouldn't stay still

Thanks J

 

[Musha]

Im new to this, so don't take my word for it. My first impression tells me female.

 

[jayclarke]

Im new to this, so don't take my word for it. My first impression tells me female.

That is what i'am thinking, i thought it was a male but the black in the dorsal fin says its female.
Its long, pointed fins, blue flecs all over and not much red says its a male.

Im confused

 

[japes]

Not 100% sure on this, but both Male and Female can have the black blotch in the dorsal fin, but only the Females have both the black blotch and the black spot on the Operculum.

Unfortunately I can't tell whether that's just a fluorescent marking or the usual fluorescent lined black spot on the gill cover, so I'm going to presume it is (as males are usually completely blank there) and go with Female. The vivid black also suggests this but it's hardly definitive.

 

[jayclarke]

I did think i had a male but it was tiny when i got it.
Dont really want to keep a solitery female, although great colour not the bulky look of a full grown male!

Its really aggresive anyway, are females as nasty as males generally?

 

[japes]

Its really aggresive anyway, are females as nasty as males generally?

In my experience yes, but they can't do as much damage as males due to the difference in body size.

 

[jayclarke]

Thanks japes,
Here is some more pics

 

[Hawkfish3.0]

japes has it nailed. It is a bit difficult to tell, but most signs point to female. It will be easier to tell for certain when it puts a little size on.

 

[jayclarke]

japes has it nailed. It is a bit difficult to tell, but most signs point to female. It will be easier to tell for certain when it puts a little size on.

A bit gutted about that, i dont know whether to keep it or not now!
It is really aggresive and attacks anything and everything.

Thanks peeps

 

[scubasteve06]

I was going to say female as well, but I have two females and they both have A LOT of red on their stomach's, and I don't see any present in those pics. I could be wrong, but I would say male. The general lack of yellow coloring also makes me lean towards male also.

If I was on my computer I would show some pics to compare to my female and show you exactly what I mean, but unfortunately I won't have it up for a couple of days.