Male Or Female?

[Kindredspirit]

Hey guys ~ I need to know if this discus is a male or female please...this fish was always like at the bottom of the totum pole! All of a sudden he/she is fighting like crazy with the BD, The Spawning Witch...lol!

So ~

What do you think? I know the pictures are horrible but I took them in the worst light and I was in a hurry:p

{pictures would be good}

[jimmyjoe]

IMO, if there sparing at each other like it appears, I'd say your pigeon is also a female. Wanting to take over a potential spawning site for her own to attract a nice suitor. IMO Jim

[Apistomaster]

It looks like a female to me.

[AADiscus]

Female

[dvarnay]

If behaviour is anything to go on I would say female I have a similar problem with my female red marlbough and red turq. They both want the same man.

[Kindredspirit]

Thanks Guys.

[steve.ryall]

IT'S A GIRL:D

[Kindredspirit]

Thank you! So...no one wants to tell me why you all think she is a she?

[dvarnay]

Thank you! So...no one wants to tell me why you all think she is a she?

Because she is only fighting with what did you call her (the spawning witch) and with no one else. Sound like rivalry to me not a heirachy issue.

[Kindredspirit]

Thanks Debbie! But...I really meant "physical attributes":)

[Apistomaster]

My reason is that she looks like all my female Discus.
It is always difficult to describe what this means and it mainly applies to mature fish but I'll try to do it.
I look for males to be more heavily built especially their head. They may have a slight nuchal hump or what looks like one beginning to develop. Most males although by no means all tend to have a more pointed tip or even a streamer at the ending soft rays of the dorsal fin. The males tend to have slightly thin bellies in cross section view.
The distance from the base of their pelvic fins to their anal pore tend to be a steeper and straight angle in profile view.

The females are less likely to have as pointed dorsal fin tip; no streamers, ime. Their heads are more smoothly rounded; no hump.
Their bellies in cross section is usually more convexed than a male's.
The distance between the base of her pelvic fins to anal pore in profile view will seem less to be at a less acute angle than a male's.

For everyone of these features there will be exceptions and the details of these features are always a subtle ones. With experience, I think it becomes an overall impression that is the deciding factor; there is a gestalt for males and another for females that comes from experience. It is not 100 % accurate and it is very personal and therefore subjective. For me, it is based on every female Discus I have seen, each one added to my mental picture of what I look for. If I can watch them in addition to just viewing a photo then there are behavioral clues I look for which are also subtle and based on experience.
Your fish just radiated Female! I could not achieve as good a percent of correctly sex identified fish out of a photo line up as I can from actually observing a group of mature discus.

[Jarrod]

Look at the vent tube. The shape of the tube helps from what i've read about sexing out a fish with the tube extended and visible.

Good luck with "it" LOL ;)

George