kermadum Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hey Team, There were a handful of fish (and by handful I mean about three or four) fish from my Koi Marble HM Spawn some time back that I held on to because I thought they may have been girls (there was a very heavy male skew in that spawn). There's one that I have that is definitely female, and she is BEAUTIFUL. I'll get some photos of her some other time. Today's challenge is this little one.... I have always thought it to be a girl. It has a very prominent eggspot and is shaped like a girl, but check out the length of those fins (that do spread to HM easily). (I've struggled to get a decent photo, but there's a couple here to give you an idea). What do we think? You can quite clearly see her eggspot here. But check out the length of those fins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 This is a tricky one... I had a PK male that showed an "egg spot", so it is possible for males to show something resembling an eggspot... but this one definitely has the body shape to say female. I'm leaning towards long-finned female for that reason... but not certain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Amazing colouring! From the length of the fins (including the long ventrals), I am leaning toward it being a male. Have you tried jarring the fish and giving it a flaring session with another male, or a mirror to observe behavior? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermadum Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Oh I probably should've mentioned that this one was always in the barracks with the boys. It flares a bit, but usually in a more flirty, wiggly way than anything aggressive. The fins are way longer than a girls usually are, but nowhere near as long as the rest of the boys from this spawn and appear to have stopped growing (haven't grown for months). If I wasn't going overseas for a month in March and leaving a house sitter to look after any resulting fry, I'd be testing the water by pairing her up with a boy in a spawn tank and watching very very closely to see the reaction but I think looking after my fish is going to be difficult enough as it is without inflicting any possible further fry on the house sitter. It's a puzzling fish, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 puzzle yes. long finned ladies, exist, yes. this is boy. says 8 ball psychic ness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forever_and_a_day Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 It's a puzzling fish, isn't it? haha couldn't agree more... front half looks like a girl, back half like a boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Nut Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Have you got a really strong light you could put over him/her to check for ovaries? The shape just looks female to me. One of my HMPK females has huge ventrals, and I have seen a couple of females on someone's Youtube channel with bigger-than-normal fins. Nice-looking fish, whatever gender it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I am undecided. Body female definitely...... but........ I have never seen a girl with such long fins and it's not just the anal fin, all fins look like a boy, definitely. Lol. My guess is Ladyboy. Not so uncommon in Thailand. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 now that i'm awake, i have to agree with bus - the body shape (particularly the U shape to accomodate her potentially eggy belly) suggests female. I've got a little dragon girl from Wildnut that has the longest finnage I've ever seen - much longer than my PK boys and the normal HM girls... so that's not impossible either. Egg spots are a bit of a myth I think, sure they're prominent on girls, but ALL of my boys have a little white belly button. I'd be putting her in a chimney with a 'tease' boy and see how s/he behaves. just to tempt you back into the HM land x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanagi Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Cover the fins and it looks like a girl. I'm going to guess long finned lady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Have a look at the length of the fins on this girl (she is in the last picture) Guess I might have to re-think my position of it being a male. I would have thought there would have been more than 1 female turn out like that in the spawn though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 adam's one has a much nicer topline (see what i did there?) 'madum, you willing to do a few behavioural tests to settle this once and for all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermadum Posted January 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Naturally... though I'm not sure how to play "Rock, Paper, Scissors" with a fish? I've got (or will have once I clean it up) a spare tank. What if I set it up as a spawn tank and put "her" in a chimney and add a boy and see what happens? Or do we have some other funky tests we'd like to try? I can't really let it go to spawning though, unless someone else is prepared to take any resulting fry in March and look after them from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 put her to a nice boy and ship me fry! otherwise it'd be interesting to see if she bars up. how to construct this mad scientist experiment? card her and expose her - i doubt you need to go to the length of setting up a faux spawn (unless you would post me the little noddles) just isolate and pop her in a beanie or container to see how she reacts over time with an active male. Something with good form, good black white and blue dragon coverage. Please MWAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermadum Posted January 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Hahaha... I'll stick "her" in with the boy that I've been wanting to breed her with, but resisting because of the trip. If I'm right and she's a she and some fry eventuate, they're all yours Ness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 MORE MADUM BABIES! bring 'em oooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Ill go with Girl Adam I had a red platnum dragon girle that had fins that long and she was a bit of a butch thing but did eventualy sucume to a males charm. Good luck with the spawn can we have pics of the male you will put her to Please Cheers les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermadum Posted January 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 I'm completely convinced that this is a girl now. I setup a spawning tank with her in a chimney and a boy that I've thought for a long time that would make a good pair with her (if she turned out to be a her). Over the course of today the boy built a nice bubble nest in the back, and we let "her" out of the chimney this afternoon. She swam straight over to him and they got flary and swam around the tank in unison dancing, with a lot of dancing under the bubble nest. That continued for an hour or so, things got a little aggro and her anal fin is a little torn, and the bubble nest a bit destroyed from all the big fins flaring underneath, so I've separated her back in to the chimney and will give him a chance to repair the nest and give them another go tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 I'll clean out the spare grow-out 8ball predict is wrong? couldn't be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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