At about two years for males, and three years for females, goldfish begin to show signs that can help identify males and females. My darlings started to show and I was able to get a few good shots, so I thought I'd post them.
Males develop tubercles, white spots on gill covers, as Napoleon, a comet, shows here:
And as my little fancy shows here:
However, Upstart, a female, has compeletely smooth gill covers:
An excellent site with more photos can be found here:
http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/info/sexing-fs.htm
If anyone else has photos of their goldfish mating or showing tubercles, feel free to add them.
Males develop tubercles, white spots on gill covers, as Napoleon, a comet, shows here:
And as my little fancy shows here:
However, Upstart, a female, has compeletely smooth gill covers:
An excellent site with more photos can be found here:
http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/info/sexing-fs.htm
If anyone else has photos of their goldfish mating or showing tubercles, feel free to add them.