Swordtails. :s

[Truck]

today i went to my lfs and bought 3 beautiful swordtails. i was browsing the tank doing the general checks and i noticed there was a few males and loads of females. i said to the assistant 3 swordtails please 1 male 2 female. certainly she replied. so i took them home and when i had acclimatised them and let them free, i was checking the sexes of the fish. 2 are definatly female. and the 1 which i presume is male, his gonopodium apears to be half male and half female. if that makes sense. i was wondering is there any other way besides the tail (which isnt there) of telling the sex. i dont know how old they are, but there about
3-4cm in length. and on the tail the bottom half is slightly darker than the rest. could he/she still be developing? please help as these are my breeding trio.

 

[Truck]

bump. this is quite important as i plan to breed show pairs.

 

[nosoup4you]

In Swordtails, if there is a well-developed dominant male in the tank, the sexual maturity of juvenile males is inhibited. It actually works the opposite for females, if there is a well-developed male in the tank their sexual maturity is sped up. It's likely that your male is still "developing"..

 

[Truck]

oh thank god for that!

thanks for the advice i have noticed on his tail there is what looks like a sword growing it looks about 3mm. ive compared it with the females and there tails are normal. i think he is just a late developer

 

[OldMan47]

At 3 to 4 cm, you have a very young male or a very small one for an adult. An adult male should be at least 5 cm without counting the tail extension of a swordtail. It is not unusual for the first hint of a male to be a half male gonopodium look to the anal fin and a slight darkening of what will one day be his sword. BTW late developing male swords are often the biggest and nicest.

 

[Truck]

oh cool thanks for the headsup

 

[dnn3]

here is a pic of my biggest and prettiest male.he was definately a late bloomer.

 

[Truck]

wow! hes awesome , great finage.

 

[dnn3]

i only kept him because i thought he was a girl.i was actually shocked when the tail started coming out.now he's so beautiful i can't bear to part with him.i went to the lfs and picked up 2 females today for him and another male that did the same thing.the other male is not quite as pretty but i'm keeping him as well.unless i have some aggression problems down the line.

 

[twilight_angel]

In Swordtails, if there is a well-developed dominant male in the tank, the sexual maturity of juvenile males is inhibited. It actually works the opposite for females, if there is a well-developed male in the tank their sexual maturity is sped up. It's likely that your male is still "developing"..

my swordtail is only i think 3.5 cm long with long tail already...

l-------------------ll--------------------l

as long as his body is...

is that fine...

 

[davidw]

Lovely pic of black swordtail...

 

[Truck]

i have studied him carfully and noticed his little stump on his tail is slightly more noticable

 

[OldMan47]

That sounds like a normal late developing male. He will likely be a stunner compared to the ones that develop earlier. Early developing is a good thing for a breeder because it make the juveniles easier to sell but the later ones end up looking better when both fish are fully mature.