Appistogramma gender...

[MxMike]

Hi

We are trying to get a concrete answer for the sex of our last remaining appistogramma please. We acquired a pair of them when we purchased our previous tank. We were under the impression that this one was the female of the male/female pair. Unfortunately the other passed away last year, he was larger. We are looking to get her(?) a companion, but we wanted to be as sure as possible that she is female before introducing another. The colour levels vary at times and at some periods will spend a few days largely in a cave.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[GaryE]

That's a somewhat unwell male. If you ignore the colour and look at the ventral fins, they should be black. Her base colour would be yellowish - brightly so when happy. She would have no extensions at the front of her dorsal (she's a linebred, red cacatuoides). I get your confusion as they are often sold in pairs, but are not. As well, the fancy breeding has created colourful females - a human breeder's work. I bred a number of pairs of wild cacatuoides in the 1990s, but I have to look three times when I see what they've been made into now, and how many male attributes females in the stores have.

I would let him live out his time. He is misshapen, which from your timeline is probably old age. His back is hunched, and there is no way he could survive in the company of another, younger cacatuoides. He's an old man showing his years.

 

[MxMike]

That's a somewhat unwell male. If you ignore the colour and look at the ventral fins, they should be black. Her base colour would be yellowish - brightly so when happy. She would have no extensions at the front of her dorsal (she's a linebred, red cacatuoides). I get your confusion as they are often sold in pairs, but are not. As well, the fancy breeding has created colourful females - a human breeder's work. I bred a number of pairs of wild cacatuoides in the 1990s, but I have to look three times when I see what they've been made into now, and how many male attributes females in the stores have.

I would let him live out his time. He is misshapen, which from your timeline is probably old age. His back is hunched, and there is no way he could survive in the company of another, younger cacatuoides. He's an old man showing his years.

Thank you so much for your response. That's very helpful. We'll keep things as peaceful as possible for him.