Synspila sex ID

B

beezer720

AC Members
Nov 11, 2005
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Detroit
I have a pair of Synspila that are about 9" and 7" TL. I would assume that they are large enough to identify their sex, but have heard this is difficult with synspila. I'm pretty sure that one is male and think the other is female. They were from the same batch of fry, and at the time one was just very slightly larger .

I took a couple pictures of the fish, hoping maybe someone with experience could tell. http://beezer720.myphotoalbum.com/v...umName=album04#

I was only able to get semi-clear pictures of the papilla on the suspected male. The first 3 pictures are ones that you can see this. If you click a picture when you're isolated on it, it will show extremely large so you can get a clearer look at it. The papilla on the female(?) doesn't quite stick out as much as the male, and appears to be slanted a little more parallel to her body laterally as opposed to the males whose is more perpendicular. As you can see she is much darker, just a slight bump on the forehead, and about 2" smaller. I haven't put too much stock into hump size, as the male is clearly the dominant fish btw the 2. Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Both males and female have genital papillae which are different shapes in males and females - in general, males have pointed genital papillae, to facilitate the deposition of sperm over the eggs, and the female ovipositors are broad and flattened to facilitate egg laying. The opening closest to the anal fin is the vent ... in males the vent is roughly the same size as the anus and in females the vent looks larger than the anus.
 
liv2padl, thanks for the input. I'm still not too sure using those methods. The female's(?) anus appears to be a bit larger than the tube, but it might just be a white spot around the anus that makes it appear larger. Also I just realized the link was not working, I fixed that.
 
it is difficult even when you know what to look for. you have to look at a lot of fish and then, it's really more 'art' than science.
 
I've heard it's pretty tough with synpila. Will it become more apparent when they hit about 10-12"? Or do you just plain have to know what you're doing with these fish?
 
Liv2padl, are you pretty experienced with synspila? I'm currently, and have previously, haveing a conversation with a few others on a couple boards about whether they think my fish are pure synspilum or not. What do you or anyone else think?
 
From what I've read in your posting and my experience with Veija Maculicauda, I'd say that you are mixing up the male and female! From your description you have a slightly smaller and more dull-colored and submissive male than your female! This may work itself out in time so don't fret too much now. While they are both at functionable breeding sizes, sometimes if the female is too large it can intimidate the male a bit for some time until they even out. It could be a very good thing to have such a large and brightly-colored female, though! Unfortunately I cannot bring up your link to pictures to verify any of this though.
 
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