We all know how difficult it is to identify the sex of these fish, so please post a picture in here and we'll try to help you (or at least give an educated guess!).
Well sorry for the un-needed excitement in the title, but I just have to show-off the fact that I finally managed to secure a pair!
Anways, long story short. Here's the suspected pair, some of you may have seen them before. But I want the opinions of the majority.
Zebra #1 (suspected male)
Zebra #2 (suspected female - ignore the broken dorsel ray )
Side View
Behavior wise, the female likes to hang out under the shaded areas of the driftwood - while the male likes to hide inside a crevice inside the driftwood.
im no expert but i think your right with your suspicions.
i recently bought a "pair" and they look very similar to these.
i.e the male has a massive big wide head and the female is altogether more delicate and a little smaller (is this usual?)
the male hangs around near a cave and occasionally tries to get in until my other big male stops him and the female hides in a crevace near a plant pot.... normally but today she is in the spare cave for the 1st time... is this unusual or does it point to her possible being male tooo...??
im worried now. il lend my mates digital camera and post some piccies!
My Pleco's:
4 x L46
5 x L174
5 x L134
5 x L287
5 x L257
2 x L236
I think you're probably right that the pics are of a male and female.
normally but today she is in the spare cave for the 1st time... is this unusual or does it point to her possible being male tooo...??
I don't know whether it's unusual or not but I think one of my suspected females was doing the same thing the other day...she was huge round her belly and there was already a female in with the alpha male...so I think she might have been sat in the spare cave nearby while they finished doing whatever they were doing and then she could go in...
My male is sort of strange too, he doesn't like the caves I have for him. He'd rather stuff himself inbetween this tiny crevice in the driftwood than take residence in a cave. I even tried putting him into the cave but he stubbornly refused. But I hope this will change once I move them into a bare-bottom tank with nothing but a cave. Not that I'm being cruel, but it's the best option - I just can't trust the MTS and Cherry shrimp pouncing on their food whenever I put into the tank.
The female has rather hairy pectoral fins, but her pectoral fins are much thinner than the males. However, they're both severly underfed, I guess the previous owner didn't bother feeding them.
Hey Raul.....i dont want to burst your bubble but your "female" looks kind of like a young male...but that brings me to this question , how big are they and do you have other pics?? You can probably tell after some good feedings and lets see how they fill out..
jerms55555 wrote:Hey Raul.....i dont want to burst your bubble but your "female" looks kind of like a young male...but that brings me to this question , how big are they and do you have other pics?? You can probably tell after some good feedings and lets see how they fill out..
The "female" is much smaller than the male, she's about 2.5 inches - he's around 3" or more. She acts like a female, but she is quite hairy on the pectoral's.
Here's another picture I have of "her":
thebuddy wrote:congrats mate and i hope it realy is a female
my fingers are crossed for ye mate
Thanks Buddy for the optimisim, I really appreciate it.
Beautiful looking zebras. I am in the same position, two zebras, don't have a clue if they are two males/females or one of each. They are about two years old now and one looks larger than the other although, I think they are the same age.
I very rarely see them except possibly the back end!!
Sometimes they have a cave each, other times, the one I think/hope might be a female spends her time under the bogwood.
We can but hope - good luck to you I hope they turn out to be one of each
Jenny wrote:Beautiful looking zebras. I am in the same position, two zebras, don't have a clue if they are two males/females or one of each. They are about two years old now and one looks larger than the other although, I think they are the same age.
I very rarely see them except possibly the back end!!
Sometimes they have a cave each, other times, the one I think/hope might be a female spends her time under the bogwood.
We can but hope - good luck to you I hope they turn out to be one of each
Thanks Jenny! I really hope so too or else I can't expect a spawn this summer.
Anyone else willing to take a stab? *hopes that Adam, Rob and McEve pass-by*
top one male
bottom one young male... sorry mate..
Can't be 100% sure at that age however. I would say he is about 18 months - 2 years old. Give it another 3-6 months and we shoudl eb able to give you a mroe accuare answer
rob
The perfect white lie..."Of course I didn't pay that much for the fish honey"
But I want the opinions of the majority. 
)
Not that I'm being cruel, but it's the best option - I just can't trust the MTS and Cherry shrimp pouncing on their food whenever I put into the tank. 
