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courtesy of Jeff Kubina
The only sure way to distinguish the gender of a freshwater angelfish is to observe their spawning equipment, which doesn’t get deployed until they’re ready to spawn. Before that, you can make some educated guesses based on physical features.
Although there are no hard rules, female angelfish are usually smaller than males. If you want a pair and plan to buy some juveniles, pick three larger fish and three smaller ones.
In several months when the angelfish are close to adult size, the females will become gravid. When they are swimming toward you, look between the ventral (bottom) fins. The females will usually have a larger tummy than the males.
The third way to make an educated guess is to draw an imaginary line vertically near the gill plate to the top of their head. Now look from that line to their upper lip. Females usually have a straight forehead, and males have a forehead that drops just above the eye then continues fairly straight to the upper lip. They call that kind of description anthropomorphism, but I thought it would be easier to understand than a bunch of Latin words I don’t know
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With six fish there is very little chance to get only one gender - that’s a good rule of thumb to use on any plan for pairing… Good point.
Added an image :-)
That’s one beautiful photograph. Although they are altum angelfish (I think), the bump in the forehead illustrates one way to distinguish a male angelfish. The bump is not so prominent in the more common angelfish.
Unfortunate but true.
I have noticed that the bump is easier to see in silver angels… Which I’m guessing are the closest that I have to Altums. I don’t ever see me having the money, time, or patience for Altums…
The large smokey that I have the bump is almost non existant. It would be very handy for me if all the males had bumps…
Lizel passed on a week ago, and I need to find another female for Mac Daddy… I have 4 that are at 10 months, but I’m just not sure of their gender. I need that pair… so… I guess I’m just going to put them all in there and hope for the best… Maybe I can get a pair without them killing each other…
i have a baby angel fish and i want to get him a female so they would breed. but how long would that take hes realy small
Growth rate depends on water conditions and types of food. Angelfish like 82 degree water and a varied diet that includes some frozen foods like brine shrimp (baby size for little ones, adult size for mature ones). They reach spawning condition in six months to a year; close to a year is more common. As mentioned above, if you have six angelfish there is a very good chance you will have at least one pair. The males tend to be larger, so if you buy some from an aquarium shop, make sure to get mixed sizes.
nice one…