Sex My Gourami

[Boxcar Muzzdogg]

I have a pearl gourami (Trichogaster leeri) which I got a few days ago, this is my first gourami, from what I have read, you can tell the male pearl gourami from the femal becase the male has an orange/redish coloration on the throat, but my gourami is very young and I'm not sure what sex it is, it does not have orange coloration on the throat, but it does have orange coloration on the pelvic fin, can anyone help me sex my gourami, as soon as I get my camera to work I will post a pic?

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Yup, sure we'll help. But need a hald decent side on view of the fish. Helps big time.
Hugs,
P.

 

[sylvia]

Yep, a pic would be good. Meanwhile, for future reference - male pearl gouramies develop their characteristic orange-red underside/throat as they mature but females can also have a hint of orange if in good condition. Both sexes have orange pelvic/ventral fins and both sexes turn an olive coloration along the top half of their body once they've colored up. The two most reliable ways of sexing pearls is by their fins and by their body shapes. If you are looking at the fins, you'll notice males have longer dorsals that are more pointed than the females'. However, older males tend to have fin ray extensions which obscure the rounded shape of the dorsal. This doesn't matter though as females don't develop these extensions (which mature males have both on their dorsal and their anal fin). If you want to use body shape, look at the fish from above first. As you look down at them, males look thinner than females which should appear to have a slight lump around their belly area. This is most pronounced on heavily gravid females. From the side, females look deeper-bodied and more rounded while males look more stream-lined and slimmer. Unfortunately, most of these differences are difficult to identify in younger fish - especialy if they have only just been brought home and are stressed or have not settled in yet.