How to sex Endlers

[communityfluvalroma]

Hello all,

I was wondering whether anyone has any tips for sexing Endlers?

 

[Essjay]

They are sexed in exactly the same way as other livebearers, by the shape of the anal fin. Females have a fan shaped anal fin while males have a rod shaped anal fin. But all endlers are born looking like females; the males' anal fin changes shape when he reaches puberty. Depending on the age of the fish, a young male can look like a female.

With adult endlers, females are usually larger and plain coloured while males are brightly coloured, though this is not as reliable a guide as the shape of the anal fin. With fry or juvenile fish the males won't have developed their full colour yet and will look more like females.

 

[emeraldking]

Well, even very young female endlers already show a tiny gravid spot. While young males (even if the haven't developed a gonopofium yet) of the same age are lacking that (also even before they get color).