Hi

[oaksee]

hi whats the easiest way to tell if ur angel fish r male or female?

 

[fluttermoth]

Angels are very difficult to sex. The only sure way is to look at their breeding tubes when they're in breeding condition. The female's will be short and blunt and the male's longer and thinner.

I've heard that you can sex them by looking at the line from ventral fins to anal fin; in males there's a sharp downwards slope, whereas in females it's flat, but I don't know how reliable that is.

 

[colleen0309]

I've found that the best way to sex angelfish is to get a group of juvies and let them grow and pair off. I've never had much luck with the ventral and anal fin method. I've also been told you can tell by the shape of the forehead...The male is supposed to be larger...never worked for me. The only problem with letting them pair off is that you end up with too many angels for your tank once they are grown. Then you have to rehome the ones that didn't pair off or set them up another tank...Be careful, this can lead to MTS (multi tank syndrome). Before you know it, you will have lots of tanks. Welcome to the forum!

 

[fluttermoth]

I've never had much luck with the ventral and anal fin method.

Darn it, I had my hopes up for that one!

Anyway, even if you can sex them, there's no guarantee they'd like each other; angels are very choosy fish when it comes to their partners, IME.

Even mated pairs can fall out. I caught my male dragging his mate around by her dorsal fin one day; they'd spawned together three times, though never hatched any fry, and I had to rehome her