View Full Version : How do you sex balas?
I have two balas that I got at the same time at the same lfs and they were the same size. Is there any way to sex these fish?
I have determined that I have m/f pairs of my pacus and nics but can't tell what I've got with the balas.
I've had them for about 4 months now and one is larger than the other and its black markings are somewhat darker.
Thanks in advance!
Rocketman
08-03-2003, 8:03 PM
I have 7 or 8 Balas, and I can't tell a difference. I don't think you can mate them though, if that's what you have in mind.
thom336
08-04-2003, 5:10 AM
They havent been bred without the use of hormones to my knowledge. In Thailand they are bred using hormones from the pituitary glands of carp. There must be a way out sexing the fish, but I do not know it - it probably isnt apprarent which sex you have until they are breeding condition.
Rocketman
08-04-2003, 5:06 PM
For example, it isn't possible to sex an Oscar without dissection, (which, obviously, kills the fish.)
I wasn't planning on breeding them, just curious. I figured just because I couldn't tell them apart didn't mean much. I couldn't tell with my other fish until they grew some. Thanks for the info, though guys.
wetmanNY
08-04-2003, 8:28 PM
When they get to be about a foot long and sexually mature, the females will be thicker-bodied, I'm reading. But I have no personal experience-- my biggest cyprinids are Siamese-Algae-Eaters.