Sexing Peppermints

[catfishLegacy]

I have 10 Peppermints ranging in age from 1.5-4 yrs. They are all a reasonably large size and I have no idea how to sex them...and some of them are a bit strange. Not like sexing common bristlenose at all

Some of them are obviously male, bristles all over the snout and up between the eyes. A few of the others have a thick line of bristles around the snout and edges of the head...but none between the eyes. These ones also seem to have "duller" spots. What does this mean??? Are they two different species???

One of them even has a few stray bristles near the eyes and NONE anywhere else.

This is very confusing...commons, orange spots, albinos...All easy to sex...Peppermints, I have no idea

Help please

[gianniz]

peppermints have a heiarchy.

dominant males have bristles like normal bristlenose.

subdominant males could kinda look like female but with slightly more bristles around the lip region.

One thing you can try is looking at the face/head shape.

If the face/head shape is like an egg shape then its female (oval)

If the face/head shape is like rounded rectangle then its a male

[catfishLegacy]

A heirachy??? I never considered that! Thanks mate, thats really helpful

Head shape? I assume you mean from above?

[wormboy]

Ploise explain Gianniz,

Are those sexual characters visible in the anterior or dorsal view of the fish, and how distinct are they?

-worm-

[gianniz]

top view (eagle eye)

its quite visible as long as the fish is mature enough (say 9cm or so)

peppermints have nasty habbit of hiding their bristles but they can't hide their face