Pearl Gourami Id

[spongy]

I added my centre piece and final piece of the stocking puzzle yesterday to my tank.

A pair of Pearl Gourami, all is well so far, they have settled in nicely and stick together well, almost joined at the hip.

But because they're so chummy I'm wondering if the assistant at the shop has given me 2 females!!

I've been trying to take some pics but they stick toward the back of the tank in the shadows of my floating plants...

Here are the pics I have can anyone help?

 

[Miller2009]

Well from the look of the pics which aren't that clear it could be one of each but I could be wrong.

 

[spongy]

I realise they're not very clear, I've just shot a video which should help more. Apologies for the dirty glass.....
http/i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu323/gsmorton/A9DE75DE-0595-4809-96C3-B5FB88059332-4652-0000021FDA6F649F_zps70e43548.mp4

 

[DreamertK]

Depending on how old they are, they could become males in time. Though it would seem to me that they're both females.

 

[Metka]

It can be very difficult to tell with pearls, as they only really tend to show being males as they get older. I have 3 pearls whome I asked when purchasing to be 1 male 2 females, but as they have grown it looks to be 2 males 1 female. How old are your pearls?

 

[MBOU]

You have a male female pair
 
In photo 2, the male is on the right, female on the left. In photo 3 they have reversed and male is on the left and female on the right.
 
You are looking at a few things, the male is darker and brighter coloured. The female is paler and has a wider body. The male's dorsal fin is long and pointed, nearly reaching his tail. The dorsal fin on the female is rounded off half way between base of fin and the tail.

 

[spongy]

You have a male female pair
 
In photo 2, the male is on the right, female on the left. In photo 3 they have reversed and male is on the left and female on the right.
 
You are looking at a few things, the male is darker and brighter coloured. The female is paler and has a wider body. The male's dorsal fin is long and pointed, nearly reaching his tail. The dorsal fin on the female is rounded off half way between base of fin and the tail.

Excellent! Thank you MBOU

The assistant had trouble telling which I found a bit disconcerting but at least she got it right.

They are my centrepiece fish and I am now fully stocked so I'm a happy man, I must now stop visiting shops and teasing myself with other fish. Lol.

I don't know how old they are, they are about 6cm from mouth to base of tail so roughly half way to full size.

They've been with me since Monday and they have settled in very well, very active and get along with everyone else, I did have a Platy that took umbridge to them and was a bit of a bully when they first went in but everyone now gets along well.

 

[DreamertK]

If you just wanted us to tell you what you were hoping they were, you should have just told us in OP.
 
I still stand my judgement of the video and wish you luck.

 

[spongy]

If you just wanted us to tell you what you were hoping they were, you should have just told us in OP.
 
I still stand my judgement of the video and wish you luck.

I did. I said I had added a pair of pearls, but the assistant seemed as if she couldn't tell and was wondering if I'd been given 2 females. Time will tell if I have a pair or not, but I can see what MBOU is saying as I can see a difference in the fins.

 

[DreamertK]

Lets hope the one you call a female doesn't end up developing male genitalia. I was in the same situation where I thought I had a pair because of the fins, and then over time one became a bully and the smaller finned one hid all the time and begged me to release her from this hell I put her in, and then I separated them and the one I though was the female has grown even larger and even more masculine than the original male.

 

[spongy]

We'll see, I'll keep an eye as always and see what develops. If they turn out to be both males then one shall be exchanged back at MA.

 

[DreamertK]

But then it's so heartbreaking to have to decide which to give away.