ViS Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 I've been growing up 4 peppermints and now I need help sexing them. I apologise for the size of the pics, but I wanted the detail to be as good as possible. The first pic gives you an idea on size. The fish is number 2. The next pic shows all 4. Luckily they are pretty easy to tell apart. Number 3 close up. Number 1 and number 4. Number 2 and 3. Number 2 close up. If anyone who has bred these guys would like to take an educated guess at sexes, I'd be grateful. I have a bad feeling they might all be boys, but it's so hard to tell from what I've seen on the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chorrylan Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 hi, my females have the two at the tip on their nose but they're never forked and they have no side bristles. On that basis I'm voting with your fears..... I would add that it's quite unusual to see an entire batch of males though. Peppermints seem to have a more distinct heirarchy model than plain bristlenose and usually an alpha-male will bristle up quite early and keep the others from struttin' their stuff. Wotcha been puttin' in that water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted July 31, 2004 Author Share Posted July 31, 2004 They have been in a 4ft dark tank with no ornaments since I had them, to try and get them to put on some size, so the Alpha male would have had no home to defend, which might explain the similar growth rates. I've seen females on the net with as many bristles as two of them, so I can only hope.... However, I'd rather end up with all boys than all girls. I only need one girl, but if they were all girls I'd have to track down several males. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 Hi Andy, The slightest fork in the nose bristles indicates male...on another note, my "second-in-charge" male went on a rampage last week and killed the alpha male and three females. I am now left with one female (who remains untouched) and him. Does this mean that they will now pair? Hope so....the carnage will be made a little easier to take. BTW he killed a male and female that he has been living with for 3 years plus two new females introduced two weeks ago. I'm guessing the new girls upset the equilibrium and triggered the killing spree merjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted July 31, 2004 Author Share Posted July 31, 2004 I hope for your sake they pair up. I can't see why they wouldn't. Two of the catfish don't show any branching of the bristles, and two do, so I can only hope I guess Can I expect them to breed at that size? What conditions do you all have yours in for them to breed? Please include what type of vessel they spawn in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysteriousredsuns Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 This has got to be one of the hardest questions to answer concerning these fish. Now i have a colony of 6, how many males, definately 2, the rest? who knows. they have bred so definately a female among them but they have always been in the colony. From the pictures, i am 99% sure that fish 2 and 3 are male. this is basically because of the forking and positioning of the bristles. now as for 1, it certainly looks like a male but its probably a little early to tell. from the pictures i cant distinguish whether there are 3 bristles or 2 and 1 starting to fork but it certainly does have a sharper nose which is a trait i associate with males. most pictures including my fish have the characteristic of sharper heads. i am therefore suggesting an 85% chance of being male. now the last one is the one that really has me running in circles. it does have a lot of bristles but it seems they are well within the margin of the lips and its head characteristic is more rounded. to me it also doesnt look as bulky in terms of its tail girth... i am leaning more to a female for this one. fingers crossed at worst you have 3 males and 1 female. i doubt that they are old enough to breed but i think ur only a few months off at that. i have been told these fish take a bit longer to spawn than normal bristlenose and mine have only spawned at 13cms ish. althuoght the females are about 10cm. at least i think its a female... ill try get pics later if possible if i can get hold of a digi camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 hey andy i not long got hold of some peppermints and they way i picked them was 1 had 2 bristles on the end of its nose and the other had them all round his nose so i guess they would be a pair and if im right i would pick yours as all males but if you need a female let me or adrian know as he has some small females he is selling if you need some thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamadamadamadam Posted August 11, 2004 Share Posted August 11, 2004 i think number four is the only female adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looking for peppermint Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 i would say that 4 might b ur only chance at a girl, and that is a slim chance judging by the pics. but then again i am no expert. keep ur fingers crossed for number 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcaught Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 Surely there must be a way to tell their sex. Otherwise, how do I end up with all male peppermints when I got them at 3-4cms ?? I can't be that unlucky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red calico Posted September 13, 2004 Share Posted September 13, 2004 well if theres someone out there with the book on how to sex em at 3-4 cm ill pay a handsome price for it ....from wat i heard at 3-4 cm its impossible to sex if u got all males i think ur chances of getting the lotto would be about the same ... maybe u should try the totto this weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.