Is this Abacaxis male of female?

[demoura]

Hi

I have this Abacaxis, acquired as male.
However, sometimes I look at its yellow look and the black fins and and I am not so sure.
It's quite small, 1 inch or so.

 

[Pol Nadal]

Hi demoura,

wow, that's going to be a difficult one (at least for me), I opened your topic because i have 3 abacaxis, one of them a clear male and the other 2 were supposed to be females but i am not completely sure at least of one of them , not the esiest apisto to distinguish when they are juveniles. Also the pigmentation of yours is quite different than what i am used to, is this because it's a wild, are these black spots parasites (i heard once that at least in discus there is a parasite giving those marks).
Look, if i have to bet, i bet it's a female but look forward to more advanced hobbyists to give u a more reliable answer.

Also a question: what other fish are in the tank? (based on the bite it seems to have on the tail)

greets

Pol

 

[madmike]

1st of all I'd change to substrate to sand. Those black spots do not cohere with what I've read/seen of Abacaxis and it looks as there is no lateral band, and certainly not a broad one. The quality of the photos makes it hard to see the different features. What color is the throat/lips? What are your water parameters?

 

[demoura]

It's hard to take picturs because it is very shy.
I think the lips are more black than purple. Same with throat.
Ph 6.5.
I acquires in a local store 1month ago, didn't grow to much since then. It was sold as male, wild.
I will try to get better pictures.
Tks a lot

Marcelo

 

[susanamck]

I would suggest it is a female.
I have posted photos of my f1 trio, 1 male and 2 females.
the shape is closer to the females than male.


female:

and the male before his colour was strong:

and now he is settled:

 

[Pol Nadal]

Hi demoura,

I am very confident that it's a wild specimen but the pattern is amazingly different form the ones i maintain. I find that A. abacaxis, amongst the species i maintain, is one of the hardest apistos to determine their gender. I have right now a trio and no doubt about the identity of the male, but the 2 other ones, that were supposed to be females,… i am not 100% sure at least one of them makes me crazy . They change their color pattern quite often, the black line that crosses their body becomes a dot in the centre, they also change from grey to yellow in an instant, and having both males and females displaying yellow doesn't really help

Let's hope that Mike or another expert sees this topic soon and give a more educated opinion, I am going to forward this link to a Fábio Silva who suppplied me with teh fish and has some experience in breeding and maintaining them,

I once again would go for a female in my betting as Susana also thinks!!
BTW, that male is identical to mine, Susana

greets

Pol

 

[susanamck]

I have only had this group for about 6months and am currently working them up to hopefully breeding.
It would be interesting to see what par. people manage to breed them in.

currently mine are in a 60litre with external filter, bogwood caves and leaf litter which im not removing when it has decomposed. conducting 10% water changes daily with reminerlised ro water using a watering can to add water a few degrees lower than the tank water to mimic rain water and feeding live brineshrimp.

so far the signs are good but no fry !!

 

[demoura]

this one sometimes has the black strip and sometimes not.
I tried this morning to look at the lips and throat better...quite hard. but I am pretty sure they are black.
It is quite territorial, is always trying to keep 2 males (one Elizabethae and one Cacatuoides) I have introduced after it far from his area....even though it is less than half their size.

 

[Pol Nadal]

Hi again,

demoura, it's very common for apistos to be territorial and I would bet that even more for F0 (wild) ones.
Females display also territoriality, but in my short experience it's not as "nasty" as it is with males. That statement is false after spawning, then they are really mean!! ;D

Susana, I am sure you have the right conditions (water + life food) to breed them, now it's just a matter of time, what is your pH??
I can't really give u any specific hint for this species because I haven't attempted breeding mine yet due to 3 reasons:

- my 2 "apisto mates" here in town have just done it recently so I don't want to have trouble finding buyers and even less, giving them trouble to find them.
- I want to reproduce and get rid of my macmasteri pair (the male is too agressive towards other apistos in my communitary tank).
- I am afraid they are not yet grown ups, so I rather give them a bit more time before attempting anything to ensure a hopefully larger spawn.

greets

Pol

 

[Fábio Silva]

Hello Demoura,

In my opinion, it is a female. Its very dark pigmentation may be due to stress or lack of ambiance to the aquarium.

But I have no doubt that it is a female.


My female:

My Male:

Greetings

 

[Pol Nadal]

Thanks Fábio!!!

I really love the bad ass face of this apisto
I think that is the video that i was concerned for the safety of the mirror because he hits it really hard hahahah.
I always mention that your A. panduro are my favorite Apistogrammas but this male specially when flaring, it's right behind in a very long list!!!!

P.

 

[susanamck]

funny enough i purchased a mirror to try this as other was suggested my male would be lazy unless he thought there was another male near his females. i will also film to see what reaction i get!

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Pol Nadal]

You will get the most beautiful colors of your male, but remember not to prolong the exposure (don't leave the mirror in for hours) since males get eventually stressed

 

[demoura]

Thanks Fabio.
I still have a little hope it may be male due to the black lips and throat, and its territorial behavior...but it is a very little hope.
How old do they need to get before we can be more confident on gender? Mine is with me for a month and is no bigger than a medium sized neon cardinal.
If it is female, I will try to get a male to form a pair...but before that it would be good to be more confident and not get 2 males on the tank and turn it into an UFC octagon
by the way, are you from Portugal or Brazil?

abraço!

Marcelo

 

[Pol Nadal]

Hi Marcelo,

i won't insist but i would bet all my money, nonetheless since the money transfer won't take place, I agree in playing the safe side and waiting a bit more to see.
Please note that the color is maybe the less important of the aspects to distinguish gender, body shape and fins are more reliable (now Mike will reply: false!! hahaha)

We are in Portugal and Fábio is portuguese,

greets

Pol

 

[susanamck]

so i tried the mirror!!

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[Fábio Silva]

Hi Marcelo,
You can wait more time to have sure that she is a female
Yes is true that she have dark lips but i think that is because she have a lot of black spots along the body.
The spots, about my experience, are a signal that she is wild, BUT, i have one or two Apistogrammas that they not a wild exemplar and with the time in my aquarium they win the same black spots, so if any expert can help me with this question, i appreciate.

Please try take a new photo..

The Pol is right, i´m Portuguese

Um abraço.

 

[demoura]

tks again. You are right, the black lips and throat really look like black spots that happen to be there.
I will wait some more time.
This specimens is really really shy. It stays in a stone cave almost all the time, just get out for feeding. And looks less and less aggressive towards the elizabethae and cacautoides males that share the same tank.
If my borelli female (which is sick) dies, I will consider not replacing it but getting a male abacaxis.

regards

Marcelo