knee Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 My swordtails left me a gift and I’m trying to figure out the sex of the baby. Is it big enough to determine? Im guessing female but I know I could be wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJs Aquatics Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Looks like a female to me if it’s old enough to be determined 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 @Minanora Help us out when you can! It's a female right now. No defined gonopodium What is the length of the fish in your estimation (total length to the end of the tail)? I'll snag some photos of mine, they are getting bigger! 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 On 2/23/2023 at 12:53 AM, nabokovfan87 said: @Minanora Help us out when you can! It's a female right now. No defined gonopodium What is the length of the fish in your estimation (total length to the end of the tail)? I'll snag some photos of mine, they are getting bigger! 🙂 I’d say 1” or maybe a tiny bit less. I’ll try to get more photos later when the lights turn on. It’s so hard to get a photo of them. It’s like they know that I’m taking their photo 😂😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theplatymaster Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 @knee what's the age? i think its too early to say "its male" or "its female" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 On 2/23/2023 at 8:05 AM, Theplatymaster said: @knee what's the age? i think its too early to say "its male" or "its female" Not sure. Definitely less than a month. if I have to guess I’d say 3 weeks but still not certain because when I saw the baby 2 weeks ago it already looked like a miniature version of the parents. I probably saw it before that but didn’t notice because it was hanging out with the ember tetras 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theplatymaster Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 On 2/23/2023 at 11:17 AM, knee said: if I have to guess I’d say 3 weeks but still not certain because when I saw the baby 2 weeks ago it already looked like a miniature version of the parents. at 3weeks it is WAY too early to sex swordtails. i can sex my platies at the earliest of 2months. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knee Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 On 2/23/2023 at 8:18 AM, Theplatymaster said: at 3weeks it is WAY too early to sex swordtails. i can sex my platies at the earliest of 2months. I figured as much. Just thought I'd try lol. Thank you for the input! 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theplatymaster Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 On 2/23/2023 at 1:04 PM, knee said: Thank you for the input! 😁 happy to help 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted February 25, 2023 Share Posted February 25, 2023 If you are trying to prevent breeding (as opposed to just being curious) I would say 4 to 6 months minimum--many juvenile swordtails will be clearly male by that age but I've had one look like an adult female for several months and then start to grow a gonopodium, so I wouldn't bet the farm on a fish being female until they are 6+ months old. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted February 25, 2023 Share Posted February 25, 2023 @kneefforgot I took photos for you. I've seen swords prior to the size you're at but I would say check every couple of days. These are about half of full size, just over an inch, 1.25" or so. 5" net. Both clearly female to me. ....and yes. They would not sit still. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted February 25, 2023 Share Posted February 25, 2023 On 2/24/2023 at 11:24 PM, nabokovfan87 said: @kneefforgot I took photos for you. I've seen swords prior to the size you're at but I would say check every couple of days. These are about half of full size, just over an inch, 1.25" or so. 5" net. Both clearly female to me. ....and yes. They would not sit still. They are adorable! That’s a great color, it makes their eyes stand out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted February 25, 2023 Share Posted February 25, 2023 On 2/25/2023 at 3:10 AM, PineSong said: They are adorable! That’s a great color, it makes their eyes stand out. They are @Minanora's Sword line. Really beautiful. So glad / thankful I was able to get some 🙂 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckleberry Posted February 26, 2023 Share Posted February 26, 2023 One thing I noticed with swords is that some show early and others show way way later. Keep an eye on out for a gondapodium, they show up out of no where. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 On 2/25/2023 at 8:06 PM, Huckleberry said: One thing I noticed with swords is that some show early and others show way way later. Keep an eye on out for a gondapodium, they show up out of no where. Yup. Had another one show up for the first time today, on one of the juveniles I brought in from the summer tub in October. These juveniles were over an inch long when I brought them in, so they are at least six months old. Now I am down to only three potential females to breed with. I hope at least one of them stays female! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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