Is This A Female?

[Devilish Angelfish]

I bought my pair of Dwarf Flame Gouramis a couple of months ago. I watched them for a few days in the LFS to pick out a pair and finally settled on this one, thinking it was a female because of the coloring and rounder dorsal fin. Now she (?) seems very very fat and a couple of weeks ago, the male (its definately a male) spent some time building a bubble nest and driving this one toward it but nothing happened after that. They now seem to get along in moderate peace with only the occasional chasing back and forth. Now this one has gotten fatter and fatter. Am worried that if its not an egg-filled female, its seriously ill. Though they're both active, hungry and reactive to noise or movement (took me AGES to get these photos!!). So, I dont know I read the thread about dwarf gouramis but still dont know. So over to you guys.
Anyone?
http/i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n623/DevillishAngelfish/Tropical%20Fish%20Tank/122011274.jpg

http/i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n623/DevillishAngelfish/Tropical%20Fish%20Tank/122011276.jpg

http/i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n623/DevillishAngelfish/Tropical%20Fish%20Tank/122011272.jpg

 

[Fishy friend2]

Looks like a subdominant male to me

 

[creeker]

Yeah, and looks like a regular male Dwarf Gourami, not a Flame. I notice many shops do not carry females of any color variety of Dwarf. They are pretty silvery and drab.

 

[Devilish Angelfish]

Ok, its just that it's dorsal fin seemed a lot more rounded than the male's. This is the definate male one here:

http/i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n623/DevillishAngelfish/Tropical%20Fish%20Tank/122011273.jpg

And this is the one I'm not sure of:


http/i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n623/DevillishAngelfish/Tropical%20Fish%20Tank/122011277.jpg

So if its not female, what would be wrong with it to cause the swollen tummy? Its not acting sick and seems quite lively. They only get fed once a day and the male gourami hasn't gotten fat from his food intake and it's scales havent started to stand out as they would in a case of dropsy. Got me baffled

 

[creeker]

Ok. It's been a while since I've seen them, but these could be Neon Dwarf Gourami. That would explain the female being a little more colorful than the regular Dwarf female. Could also just be a bit of "breeding blush" going on too. It does look like a female with eggs though in shape. If it was a male, I'm pretty sure the one that built the bubble nest would be beating on it by now.

 

[Ruskull]

I agree with Creeker, looks like a very colorful female that's full of eggs. As long as she's not lethargic, and she's eating, she should be alright. If the male is building a bubble nest you should lower the level of the tank water and turn down the aeration.

If it's truly a female it's one of the most colorful I've ever seen. The shape of the body does suggest it's a female Dwarf.

 

[creeker]

If it's truly a female it's one of the most colorful I've ever seen. The shape of the body does suggest it's a female Dwarf.

Which would make it an excellent candidate for breeding! Would be nice to have a bunch of females with that coloration.

 

[Asteria]

Yet it looks like a male, i to do believe its female.

I had some untill they got dropsey.
And my female too had a orange palor body, and my male became brighter the longer i had him.
So sometimes in the shops they may not all be happy and appear the silver dull colour.

Good luck with the breeding

 

[Fishy friend2]

Yeah, the only reason I thought it was a male is because females are usually a more silvery color, and males have more color like that. I've seen some one on here with a stressed and subdominant male that looks exactly like that before. Surprisingly they thought it was a female too!

 

[Devilish Angelfish]

Yeah, the only reason I thought it was a male is because females are usually a more silvery color, and males have more color like that. I've seen some one on here with a stressed and subdominant male that looks exactly like that before. Surprisingly they thought it was a female too!

Thank you everyone for your input - much appreciated!! I was just totally baffled as to what the deal was.......not that THATS such an odd situation for me *sigh*
I am hoping they decide to breed. I went back to the LFS to see if the other female I had spotted there was still there but it was gone (thought I could even out the bullying a bit). She was a solid silver though and probably one of the other Dwarf species. I hope they DO breed - if so, I'll post pix . I have also noticed that in all the LFS I've been to (and there's 4 I go to regularly), the Dwarf gouramis for sale are male. Why would THAT be, I wonder? I had to spend a couple of days observing the fish in the tank to pick out this pair (the LFS owner knows me and didnt mind me peering for an hour or so )

 

[creeker]

Yeah, the only reason I thought it was a male is because females are usually a more silvery color, and males have more color like that. I've seen some one on here with a stressed and subdominant male that looks exactly like that before. Surprisingly they thought it was a female too!

Thank you everyone for your input - much appreciated!! I was just totally baffled as to what the deal was.......not that THATS such an odd situation for me *sigh*
I am hoping they decide to breed. I went back to the LFS to see if the other female I had spotted there was still there but it was gone (thought I could even out the bullying a bit). She was a solid silver though and probably one of the other Dwarf species. I hope they DO breed - if so, I'll post pix . I have also noticed that in all the LFS I've been to (and there's 4 I go to regularly), the Dwarf gouramis for sale are male. Why would THAT be, I wonder? I had to spend a couple of days observing the fish in the tank to pick out this pair (the LFS owner knows me and didnt mind me peering for an hour or so )

They don't carry females for the simple reason that they are drab. Unless someone is breeding them, they generally wouldn't buy a female.

 

[Baccus]

Yeah, the only reason I thought it was a male is because females are usually a more silvery color, and males have more color like that. I've seen some one on here with a stressed and subdominant male that looks exactly like that before. Surprisingly they thought it was a female too!

Thank you everyone for your input - much appreciated!! I was just totally baffled as to what the deal was.......not that THATS such an odd situation for me *sigh*
I am hoping they decide to breed. I went back to the LFS to see if the other female I had spotted there was still there but it was gone (thought I could even out the bullying a bit). She was a solid silver though and probably one of the other Dwarf species. I hope they DO breed - if so, I'll post pix . I have also noticed that in all the LFS I've been to (and there's 4 I go to regularly), the Dwarf gouramis for sale are male. Why would THAT be, I wonder? I had to spend a couple of days observing the fish in the tank to pick out this pair (the LFS owner knows me and didnt mind me peering for an hour or so )

The guy at one of the pet shops I frequent cringes when I spend ages peering into a tank, he knows what usually follows is a nice polite "can you please catch that one Borneo Sucker? " they are hell to catch and I always only want one certian one not any old one he manages to eventually nab.

Anyway back on topic, the female gourami you picked out might have accidentially been put in with a batch of males just because she was more brightly coloured than the other females. I know a certian pet shop in town that often has pairs of coral blue, wild type and honey and sometimes flame gouramis.