My 5 rainbow fish

[AJinNY]

Well I have 2 Australians and they are both definitely males...one is definitely more dominant than the other.

Its the 3 boesemani Im wondering about. NONE of them are showing the blue in the front half, yellow in the back half. Based on shape and fin colors, I would tend to think that at least 2 of them should be male.

If they are juvies, how long would it take for them to reach adult status and show off the colors? Its been several weeks and nothing so far. I went to a different lfs and saw one that is clearly male with the coloration I expected but I didnt get it because the last thing i want to do is overcrowd the tank and cause stress.

 

[PEMfish]

Yeah, your rainbows. Maybe just got some ugly ones. Wait a few months and see. How long are they?

 

[AJinNY]

Attached are some pics....Please note the "flash" of the camera is making the colors look more vibrant than I really see them in the tank.

1. - What do you think of the new gravel? I think its better than the all white I had before.
2. - In these pics the Australian rainbow I think is clearly a male and his color is decent (again with the flash).
3. - See the boesemani...color is better with the flash but not nearly as intense as I expected. Are these male? They juvies?

Or did I get stuck with an ugly batch?

 

[RyanG]

Sorry to tell ya AJ the bosemani's that I can see are DEFINATELY female. Even the juvies and subdominants will have a yellow tail.

 

[PEMfish]

New gravel looks nice.

 

[AJinNY]

Im suspecting they are female too which really makes me angry. I was very specific with the guy at the LFS about what I wanted. But Ill have to get a male or two and they should show off their colors pretty nicely, right?

But I thought the males have reddish fins and the females have yellow?

 

[AJinNY]

hi Ryan,

In this other thread: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fresh-water-forum/29922-rainbowfish-how-tell-gender-2.html

you thought the same fish was male. lol

 

[RyanG]

I dont know what I was seeing then but these pics look identical to my females! On an upnote my dominant male is starting to color up finally. The new gravel looks great. And Im going to call the fish in the top pick sexually mature see how its starting to develop the "hump back" thats what Im basing this on.

 

[AJinNY]

so then my fish are NOT juvies...so they must be female.
Can you show us your dominant male? Id love to see what the coloration looks like now!!

 

[RyanG]

I would say that they are the equivaltent of teenagers! if that makes sense, sexually mature but not adults.

 

[ramora]

don't males also have more color.

 

[PEMfish]

Yes