My male was in a tank with (what I thought) 6 females. Waiting for him to choose his mate. All of them showed the dark fins (other than the for sure male). After he chose his mate I removed the other 5. Two of them turned out to be male, and didnt show signs, color or finage until I removed them from the dominant male. They both were around 6 inches. So, yours may still be a male, and if Gage vented it as a male I would trust him. He has been 100% successful with me so far. And I have purchased a lot of fish from him.