guppy an molly gender

[mollybabes]

how do you tell which is male and female? I thought we had 2 male and 2 female guppies, but I think we have 3 males because their top fins all kinda look the same, kinda like a ponytail where it just kinda hangs, and the one i think is a female, her top fin is just stiff. Is it the same with mollies?

[ChilDawg]

The anal fin is the one at which you must look. The males have swordlike extensions called gonopodia (singular, gonopodium) and these are used for fertilization.

[goldfries]

male guppies = colorful
female guppies = not colorful

[ChilDawg]

For the most part, but you can't completely rely upon that as an indicator. Bettas have gone the same way, where females are now becoming nearly as attractive as males.

[goldfries]

guppies are still ok. females are generally larger and less colorful on the body.

as for betta, female bettas and betta ST look almost same. i've not come across any females that are fancy, other than the super-fancy female bettas i saw on internet.

[Faramir]

The gonopodium is the diagnostic feature. Not all livebearers have secondary sexual characteristics, so it's easiest to learn the method that works for all.

[thom336]

i recently got some new guppies, and i was amazed just how much the females look like males these days. but the body of the females is alot more broader and fuller than that of the male...but the best method is, as mentioned, the best method is to look at the gonopodium.

[goldfries]

well. i definitely wish i can get a nice female then.

the females over here are generally plain.

[mollybabes]

is the gonopodium thing true of all fish species?

[Faramir]

Only Poeciliid livebearers - i.e. most aquarium livebearing species. Egglayers fertilise externally as a rule and have no fin modifications of this type. Even other livebearing families (more rarely seen in aquaria) have different modifications.

Come to think of it, IIRC, those of the Anablepidae and Half-beaks are pretty similar.

[thom336]

i think so much work went into getting the colourful male guppies, that the females were just left aside. but now that fish breeders are looking for challenges, they are coming round to breeding some colourful females. im hoping to breed some lovely colourful females from the ones i have - one has a baby blue tail; two others have orange on bottom, red on top; and one is a rather dull one, with the general colouration of female guppies. they were all showing their gravid spot when i bought them (which is unfortunate because i have a lovely male i wanted to breed them with), so i should have some young soon. the gravid spots are getting darker as days go by.

[mollybabes]

my female doesn't seem to have a gravid spot. she is only two different colors-reddish orange on the tail half and pale yellow on the front half. I can see through her body a little on the lighter side, and she has a dark spot inside but no external coloring. what does that mean? she does seen to be getting fat, though, like she's pregnant.

[thom336]

the gravid spot is on the inside of the female, so that is what you are seeing. a gravid spot is an indicator that the female livebearer is pregnant, so if there is that spot...then yours is pregnant.