How to Sex Your Flower Horn Fish.

Click for Readable HTML Version

<h1>How to Sex Your Flower Horn Fish.</h1> by Koay Al Vin - Flowerfish.com <div align=justify>How to Sex Your Flower Horn Fish. For most hobbyists, the male Flowerhorn is preferable to the female because of the different traits and behaviors they exhibit. For example, the male has big nuchal humps. In Chinese Fengshui, these are believed to bring good luck. Moreover, the males are more attractive. They have more vibrant colors, and their bodies are much broader. Females tend to be much smaller, and their features are far less attractive. However, if you're interested in breeding your fish, you must have both sexes in your tank. In order to get the Flowerhorn sex you really want, hobbyists are advised to purchase a fish of 4-6 months of age. This way, the sex of the fish is able to be determined. There are, though, various sexing methods at any age. The table below summarizes the these methods according to different life stages of Flowerhorns. Sexing of Flowerhorn fish at different stages <TABLE width="99%" border=1> <TBODY> <TR> <TD width="26%">Age and length</TD> <TD width="31%">Characteristic</TD> <TD width="43%">Sexing Method</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="26%">2 months (1mm - 30mm) </TD> <TD vAlign=top width="31%">. Juvenile stage. . Colors and body patterns are not noticeable. </TD> <TD width="43%">. No known method. . Observations shows larger sized fish within the same batch tend to be males. </TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="26%" height=443>2 - 5 months ( 30 mm - 150 mm) </TD> <TD vAlign=top width="31%" height=443>. Colors and body patterns are becoming more distinctive.</TD> <TD vAlign=top width="43%" height=443> . Distinctive black marking on the dorsal fin indicates that it is a female. However, this is not foolproof. The same pattern does exist on some male Flowerhorns. . Observations on the shape of the genital papillae. V-shaped papilla indicates a male fish, while a U-shaped papilla indicates a female fish. Gently squeezing the abdominal region may reveal the papillae. . Male Flowerhorns will have broader body with higher dorsal, anal and caudal fins. It is also observed that male Flowerhorns will have thicker jawline and more distinctive body color.</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top width="26%">5 months and above (150 mm - 600 mm) </TD> <TD vAlign=top width="31%">. Flowerhorns begin to mature. Distinctive and rather prominent head humps are visible on the male fish.</TD> <TD vAlign=top width="43%">.Female will start to lay eggs even without the presence of a male.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Copyright 2000-2007 Flowerfish.com. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way and give the author name credit. <A href="flower_horn_guide.html">More Articles..</A></div> Article source: <a href="http://www.ArticlePros.com/PetsLivestockWildlife/Fish/article-66765.html">ArticlePros.com</a> <table align=center width=550 cellspacing=1 bgcolor=silver cellpadding=5> <tr bgcolor=antiquewhite> <td> About the author FlowerFish.com is the complete Flower Horn Fish Resource center. We are also one of the world's biggest and most recognised Flower Horn breeder, exporter and wholesaler.Please visit us at http://www.FlowerFish.com for more articles and Flower Horn fish picture galleries. <a href="www.flowerfish.com" target="_blank" title="will open in new window" class=blue>www.flowerfish.com</a> <input type=button class=asubm value="Other articles by Koay Al Vin - Flowerfish.com" onclick="document.location='http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Koay Al Vin - Flowerfish.com'" style="height:20px;cursor:hand"> </td> </tr> </table>