Is it possible to gender my angels yet?

biofish · Dec 17, 2022

Hello fish fam!

I got my angels in July, and I know one of them is starting to get…. Jiggy….. their pattern has been unusually distinct and their scales are starting to yellow. I’m also 95% sure it’s a boy.

Their little peckers haven’t showed themselves yet but was wondering if anyone could possibly tell based on body shape?

GaryE · Dec 17, 2022

I used to breed angels, and if I am honest, there were times when I knew I had pairs, but it was the "male' who laid the eggs. A lot of people can pronounce from online photos. I used to think I could. But angels are the real experts.

Ichthys · Dec 17, 2022

I don’t believe anyone can sex domestic Angels from photos with any certainty. Most cichlids have a difference in shape between the sexes, however subtle, but the domestic Angel varieties are mostly hybrids between P. scalare and P. leopoldi. These two species are different shapes, especially the heads, which confuses the issue. Females can look ‘definitely male’ and vice versa.

You won’t know if you have a female until you see eggs, or a big blunt ‘pecker’, and since two females can pair up and spawn together, you won’t know if you have a male until the eggs hatch.

emeraldking · Dec 17, 2022

Ichthys said:
I don’t believe anyone can sex domestic Angels from photos with any certainty.

I totally agree. I've kept and bred angels in the past as well. And also I was convinced how to sex them but that's was just theory. You can't be sure when the head starts to grow a hump as an adult that it's a male or female. Same goes for the ventral fins. For I've experienced it as well that a socalled typical male turned out to be a female. And the other way around. You could look at the abdomen if it widens or not to determine a female. But that's gonna be hard if they're still young.
Best way is to see which one will lay eggs.

biofish · Dec 17, 2022

ah darn it. I’m not surprised though. Everyday I curse my sister just * a little bit more * for getting them.

So far everything’s been great with them but I know that that can change in a heartbeat. Love them but they always make me a bit nervous.

Knowing my unobservant butt, I’m never gonna be able to gender them. Just gonna suddenly see fry floating about and I’m gonna be like “when did that happen”