Male & Female

smilezz · Post by **smilezz** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:22 pm

Hi,

Can someone please confirm that i have a male and female pair please?

McEve · Post by **McEve** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:08 pm

They seem to be at that age where it's the hardest to guess

How big are they? Do you have caves for them? Noticed if any of them have taken posession of a cave?

smilezz · Post by **smilezz** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:03 am

Hi,

The smallest one in the picture is around 6cm and the other one is around 6.5 .

As for caves, i've only got 2 terracotta and a few rocks for them but no signs of them hiding in the cave.

Plastic Mac · Post by **Plastic Mac** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:37 pm

My guess is two males.

chanettt · Post by **chanettt** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:43 pm

Plastic Mac wrote:My guess is two males.

me too

smilezz · Post by **smilezz** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:34 am

Really?

Had to be my luck

The seller said it was a pair, so i paid a bit more than normal. Dammit

Well, look on the bright side, i still have 2 lovely zebs. Unfortunately, i won't be able to afford any more for sometime. They are very costly here in Aus.

Stevie.K · Post by **Stevie.K** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 1:39 pm

Don't dispair if the zebs are not fully grown & have lots of hair!, i bought one fish as a male which laid last week

Plastic Mac · Post by **Plastic Mac** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:53 pm

Stevie is right, judging by looks isn't a 100% guarantee of their sex (at least when it's not 100% obvious anyway)...how they behave imo is a far better indicator.
I wouldn't be too disheartened, all mine were stated to be male until one day when I had eggs in the cave, so there' still hope

It wouldn't be the first time someone has sold two as a 'pair' though, when there's no proof of them being a pair at all. Did the seller imply they had bred before at all?

McEve · Post by **McEve** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 2:14 pm

I'll third that. All mine were labelled as males when I first started. turned out 3 out of 5 was females

It's very hard to tell when they are at the size yours are. None of them shows all the characteristics of a male or a female. Both have a crescent pectoral fin (indicates female), none has much odontodes (indicates female), none has a plump body shape (indicates male), both has a rather large pelvic fin (indicates male), both has a pointy nose (indicates male)....

Did you see: http://www.zebrapleco.com/article2.php ? (time to update it a bit a see...

)

Agree with Plastic Mac, behaviour is important to look at at this time. Try putting a cave or two in there and see who takes posession