Is this a sneaker male or a coloured female?

[Apsnake]

I lost a female a while ago and bought this one for my male. The male harassed her so bad I had barely seen her in a couple of months, well recently my male died from a internal parasite which I couldn't fend off! When this happened I rescaped the tank and done large water changes. The female of course came out and started ruling the tank. This is where my suspicions started. Slight tinges of male colouration started to occur flecks Of reds in her tail and dorsal fins slight blue marks around her face. Anyhow I bought a new male to recreate a pair and the male I got is really small compared to this huge female. She relentlessly chases him round the tank when I remove the divider even though he is in adult colouration and is around an inch in size he cannot fend her off. I need a second opinion if this is in fact a female macmasteri or a male that is stuck in sneaker form thanks in advance for any replys. I would like to breed these fish and am not having much luck, also this female claimed a cave and blocked the entrance with substrate which is something I've never had a male apistogramma do in my tanks. Does this help decide if it is a female? I have photos of both but will only post female as male is a definite

 

[Apsnake]

Also I have owned a full sized adult macmasteri male and he was nearly twice the length of both female a strong couple of inches so I do know the size he will be but here is a shot of them together so you can gauge the size difference between them. Compared to my first male he is tiny

 

[Apsnake]

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[yuzo]

Hey Apsnake! Your case looks to be even more confusing than mine! I'm looking forward to see what others say as I've never kept Macmasteri until now and an looking to learn more about the species.

 

[Drayden Farci]

I think the initial post is a female, but it's hard to tell. I'm going through the same issue with my pair of A. eremnopyge - the smaller has no extended fins, has black on the tips of its pelvic fins, and has all the appearances of a female, but it is colored almost like a male. It isn't yellow all that much, but it does have several darker stripes that come and go on the torso, which could be female-specific (or more likely to be female).

 

[Bart Hazes]

To me it looks convincingly like a female. Sneaker males look like "neutral" females and not yellow. Only cases I've heard of males adopting female breeding colours are when the female dies or otherwise stops caring for her fry and the male decides to take over. I think you'll have to keep them separate until the male grows to a size where he can stand up to her (or keep her happy by doing his manly duties).

 

[Mike Wise]

Not necessarily true. This is a trio of Rotpunkt I had back in the 80s. The sneaker male was as yellow as the breeding female.

 

[Apsnake]

IM still not adamant that it's male or female it shows strong orange colours sometimes in its dorsal and red in tail which are traits I haven't seen in any previous females I've owned and only in males. All of my fish come from one guy who has a small shop and I'm pretty friendly with them. Now he knows his fish more than anyone I have met but not apistos specifically but he wasn't sure either. The photos I posted are quite realistic compared to her actual colours. She is severely aggressive either way but I suppose as my male is quite small that's also a contributing factor as he isn't there to keep her in check so to speak. Do sneaker males block up caves like a breeding female or is it only the colours they adapt? If blocking a cave is a sign of a female then it's certain she is! Will they still grow male fin extensions as an adult? Will it inhibit the actual size of the male due to suppressing hormones possibly? There's a few questions there that may have been answered if so apologies and thanks for your help

 

[Mike Wise]

She is severely aggressive either way but I suppose as my male is quite small that's also a contributing factor

This isn't uncommon. I have larger/older female of A. (cf. luelingi) sp. Cristal that is the last F-1 from her wc parents. I added a much smaller/younger F-1 male from another pair of wc parents. I like to mix specimens to lessen the chance inbreeding when possible. The female was very aggressive at first, but there is less aggression now that the male is almost the same size as the female. Once he grows some more I look forward to them breeding.

Do sneaker males block up caves like a breeding female or is it only the colours they adapt? If blocking a cave is a sign of a female then it's certain she is

I've never seen this behavior in males, but I guess it's possible. Sneaker behavior is used to avoid aggression from dominant males and breed with females within the territory of the dominant male. Although some sneaker males will try to brood fry, I've seen this in dominant males, too, so it's not just a sneaker male behavior.

Will they still grow male fin extensions as an adult? Will it inhibit the actual size of the male due to suppressing hormones possibly?

Once the dominant male is removed, sneaker males develop normal male characteristics. Size depends on age, food, water quality, etc., but sneaker males are not the same as a stunted fish.

 

[Apsnake]

This isn't uncommon. I have larger/older female of A. (cf. luelingi) sp. Cristal that is the last F-1 from her wc parents. I added a much smaller/younger F-1 male from another pair of wc parents. I like to mix specimens to lessen the chance inbreeding when possible. The female was very aggressive at first, but there is less aggression now that the male is almost the same size as the female. Once he grows some more I look forward to them breeding.



I've never seen this behavior in males, but I guess it's possible. Sneaker behavior is used to avoid aggression from dominant males and breed with females within the territory of the dominant male. Although some sneaker males will try to brood fry, I've seen this in dominant males, too, so it's not just a sneaker male behavior.



Once the dominant male is removed, sneaker males develop normal male characteristics. Size depends on age, food, water quality, etc., but sneaker males are not the same as a stunted fish.

Thanks for the informative reply mike I really appreciate it, you seem like a very knowledgable character! It's quite interesting how they are so conscious of the female behaviour that they can mimic it so precisely. Ohh well only time will tell with this one, for the my divider will suffice I just want a spawn of them One day the male might do his fishy thang! Seriously though thanks for the reply couldn't have asked for a better answer