sexing sens

[bluestarjazz]

I am wondering if spike here is big enough to sex and if so can any one help I will try to get a better pic s/he's not cooperating at the moment. I did get a better shot of my baby albino though
ps.I do now the little guy is way to little to sex

 

[Infblue]

how big/how old is spike?

 

[bluestarjazz]

~4.5" maybe a little more as for how old i don't know

 

[killerfish]

looks female but i'm not sure does it ever come out and curl into a cup shape ? if so then its male

 

[moonchild1970]

Why do males make a cup shape?

 

[Andri Pogo]

to grab the eggs from the female and fertalize them.

i would say the top one looks more male than female, but not a mature male. Looks like the anal fin area is starting to get swollen

 

[fishdance]

The top photo is a male. If you want to breed you are far better off to have 2 or 3 males for each female as the extra male competition and interest will produce better spawns and fertilisation. Actually I wouldnt even try to breed without at least 2 or 3 females since it is a lot of time and effort involved to depend on just one female. So aim for about 12-15 fish as a base. Spawning them is by far the easiest part.... hatching is where most people fail and feeding small fry is also challenging for the inexperienced.

 

[killerfish]

yep getting the fry to survive is the hardest part polypterus make horrible parents and pretty bad brothers and sisters cannibalism is the biggest problem when breeding polys

 

[bluestarjazz]

thanks but I only have 2 at the moment and the other is about as big as a large guppy but i was considering trying to breed them at some point must get a bigger tank first

the more I think about it the larger tank I want .....
these guys are addicting

 

[bluestarjazz]

yep spike is a he and here is a better pic I had to bribe him it was feeding time anyway
I am getting a bigger tank in a few weeks he has definatly grown alot from the little 3.5" fish I bought a few months ago