Went To My Lfs

[mr130gallon]

ok before i say what i got, while i was waiting for an employee to help me, i was watching one of the customers return an irredescent shark catfish to the store, he had it in a 55 gallon.

Anyway, i caught my rosy barbs except one (he evaded me) and the ticto barb and my red clawed crab and brought them to my lfs, then i bought 6 cherry barbs, 2 males and 4 females, and then i bought an SAE because i saw it there and they dont always have true SAE's and i needed another one. i also bought 2 neon tetras because just a few minutes before my cousin gave me 4 of them and i wanted at least 6 so they would do better.

Then i wanted bolivian rams and kribensis but they were out of stock at that store, so i went to another of the same store just 10 minutes away and they had bolivians and kribensis, so i got a pair of kribs, i know they are male and female for sure, then i bought 4 bolivian rams, i didnt know the difference between males and females, but ill post some pictures later when i get home.

I brought the fish home and did a 20% water change before putting the fish in the tank, just so the water was better (i think), and this morning they are doing well, ill post pictures when i get home.

 

[Curiosity101]

When taking pictures of the bolivians for sexing, the most useful shot will be a side on shot, preferably with fins up.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Nice! I want a pair of kribs! The only store that carries them is a good 2 1/2 hour drive away!

-FHM

 

[mr130gallon]

ok, thanks, i can describe the bolivians a bit...

two of them have black stripes over their eyes that go from top to bottom and they have a black dot behind their eye, the other two have those markings but they are faded.

also they are looking way better than they did when in the LFS already, as are the neons, the neons look incredible!

i love kribs as well, my friend had a breeding pair and he gave them back to the LFS because they were breeding to much lol, and they are in the display tank now, they look so good.

 

[Curiosity101]

Bolivians are near enough impossible to sex until they mature past 1.5" (for most males) and/or breed (for most females).

Pictures are the only way to do it really...

 

[mr130gallon]

Bolivians are near enough impossible to sex until they mature past 1.5" (for most males) and/or breed (for most females).

Pictures are the only way to do it really...

they are just a bit smaller then that i think, maybe 1.25 inches

 

[indir-emir]

Hey mate, i read a while ago (and htere was a more recent thread) when i bought my bolivians that the best way to sex them is their "vent"
If you look under them. Near the back fin there is a "vent".

A female vent will be blunt and going down and slightly back.
A male vent will be pointed and go almost against his body.

Id find you the picture but it was a long time ago when i learnt to sex bolivian rams

Give that a go and see how u go, they still might be a bit small.

Good luck,
Indir

EDIT: Quick google search and im here again Heres pics for reference mate.

Female:
http/i100.photobucket.com/albums/m15/Blairo/FemaleVent.jpg

Male:
http/i100.photobucket.com/albums/m15/Blairo/maleVent.jpg

There are not my pictures, nor do i claim them to be mine

 

[Curiosity101]

To be fair indir I've found that although male vents are pretty obvious, I've seen seemingly female fish go from having a blunt 'vertical' vent to having a pointed rear facing vent and then developing to be clearly male...

They're a nightmare to sex tbh, best way is to get a group and allow natural pairing to occur. Once you see a pair segregate themselves you can near enough 100% guarantee you have a m/f pair.

 

[mr130gallon]

is four enough for them to pair up? there should be at least 1 male or 1 female.

 

[Curiosity101]

Time will tell. But it should be. Annoyingly I've noticed there seems to be an un even proportion of male to females in this species . Not sure if it's genetic...and so in built due to the conditions they come from naturally...
But practically everyone I speak to only have males! It's crazy.

 

[mr130gallon]

that sorta sucks, id like at least on breeding pair though. and if i get a pair it may help me sex the other ones and then i can get a new one and know which one to get.

 

[mr130gallon]

ok ill post pictures now

some tidbits

when the SAE i newly bought went in the tank he was swimming around then as soon as he saw the other SAE it sniffed(?) the other one and then was rubbing its body against the other one they love eachother already, the are inseperable now.

the neons look way beter than ive ever seen neons look, i wish you could see them in my tank.

the cherry barbs look great, i have 2 males and 4 females, i hope thats the right ratio.

i think the kribs are ready to pair up. they are male and female almost for sure.

one of the bolivians is sick i think, or stressed but the others are all good i think.

now the pics

my bolivians

The sick/stressed one?

my baby SAE

my male krib

my neons

 

[mr130gallon]

can anyone tell me why the sick/stressed on is darker? is he sick or stressed or is that his markings

 

[ZoddyZod]

I agree with you on the Neons. I was amazed when I put 10 in my tank recently, the colours are much more intense than in the lfs. Feeling guilty as I'm tempted to ship out the danios and guppies and up the neon numbers, but I wont..........yet

 

[mr130gallon]

ok, the comment about my SAE's being inseperable... well it seems that is not so, my bigger one always chases the other one now, are they bad in pairs? my friend has two of the same size and they like each other.