Are My Gouramis Male Or Female?

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dee13140

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I have 2 dwarf Gouramis and 1 white Gourami and I'm not really sure if I have 2 males and 1 female. But I just want to make sure.
 
 
I beleive these are the males
dwarf_gour_male_100721b3_w0480.jpg
 
And this I beleive is the female
 
images.jpg
 
Yes you have a male (top) & female (bottom), males are brighter colored and have longer dorsal (top fins) , females are generally a duller colour (not bright) and will usually have a more rounded appearance and shorter/smaller dorsal fins :)
 
Thank you :) also wouldn't they be able to mate as well? And should I add another female?
 
How big is your tank? Male dwarf gouramis are likely to fight unless you have a huge, well planted tank.
 
The male dwarf gouramis won't be able to breed with the white female because they are different species. If you want to breed with your dwarf males, you will need dwarf females. And several of them as male dwarfs can get nasty towards the females when breeding.
 
I have a 30 gallon. They seem to be trying to mate with her already, I don't mind if they don't breed I already have platy babies haha. But would she calm them down more than before?
 
The white gourami looks like a color morph of the 3spot gourami, which won't make fertile offspring. If she's young, I'd even put my money on saying she's actually a young male. Usually their dorsal fins are very short/stubby and very round.
 
You got it right on the hammer with the male dwarfs though.
 
Here's some examples of muted colored female dwarfs:
Female.jpg

colisa-female-03.jpg

5411813681_811101f4f1.jpg

 
Just look at yours. The shape of her body and head. The location of her fins. The shape/size/pattern of the fins.
 
+1 DreamerTK
 
The white gourami is definitely a three-spot variation, which will not produce successfull breeds with dwarf gourami. Also that picture above is of a young male as Dreamer said.
 
I do wonder exactly what fish the OP has. The photos in the first post don't appear to be her fish, I've found them on google. The pic of the male dwarf is signed by Dr Tom Bailey and is from a site 'created by the Bailey brothers', and the white gourami is from another site (one that Norton stopped me from visiting).
 
 
Unless we can see photos of the OP's actual fish it will be impossible to say if she really has a white three-spot. It could well be she has a female dwarf and the photo of the white gourami was just one she found that looked similar.
 
Very true essjay.
 
dee13140, are you able to take a few photos of your actual fish and post them for us? Then we can help you identify them.
 
I would post a picture of my white gourami but she's so skidish I can't get one of her so I found one that looks exactly like her. And I have determined that my dwarfs are male and my white gourami is a female.
 
The problem with not posting photos of the actual fish is that it does make it hard for us to be sure. For example, if your white gourami has fins that are slightly more pointed than the photo, it could be a male. I do realise how difficult it can be photographing some fish. They seem to have some instinct that tells them, and that particular fish will go and hide. Or all the other fish will get in the way. Or the fish will decide to stare out at you so all you can get a photo of is its head. And have you ever tried taking a photo of a male endler
confused.gif

 
If the white gourami really is a variety of three-spot (this gourami has several different coloured varieties such as gold and opaline as well as white) and a female, it is a different species from the dwarf gouramis. So they won't breed.
 
And if it is a male 3spot morph, it will certainly kill the two dwarfs. I really don't think you should be taking this lightly especially with how aggressive they can be.
confused.gif
 
Every fish have their own personality, so just keep an eye on them. Any damage to scales or fins is usually a good indication to stress and/or fighting.
 
I have 3x three spot (opalines) and 1x male dwarf - no problems between any of them, but the dwarf does keep himself to himself, slowly moving through the plants. Just keep an eye on them :)
 
Thanks everyone, I honestly tried getting one of all of them but they just don't seems to like the camera haha. I had taken them to my lps and he had sex them for me :) they all seem to be getting along well, even with my other fish :)
 
That's good! :) As long as the harmony in the tank seems OK then all should be fine, just keep a watchful eye on them just incase :D
 
Any other questions feel free to ask and we'll try and help! :fish:
 

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