# Angel Fish Genders



## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

Does anyone know how to tell angel fish apart, I got asked at work today and I had no Idea, Ive usually kept angels as single fish... I cant imagine venting the poor thin things, is there body shape, colors, etc to look out for?


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Angelfish USA says:

"The only SURE WAY of sexing angelfish is watching them spawn. During their spawning, the male will have a much smaller and thinner (almost like a pencil point) tube while the female has a much thicker and larger tube. The tube is located between the ventral and anal fins. There are other ways to sex angelfish for the experienced angelfish breeder but it will never be 100% accurate. Small angelfish are impossible to sex."


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Thats accurate. An experienced breeder can sort siblings by size, head color, body shape or fin blueness, etc. But its not 100% and it doesn't work at all on unrelated fish. Because the differences between males and females are less than the differences between individuals unless they are all closely related and of a consistent line.


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## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

Thanks, the fish we sell are about 2in, I don't think they'll spawn for awhile and not in our cramped tank tanks


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

males often are darker on the head, but so are gold and koi angels. females tend to be fatter. Just search on the web. When the bodies are 2", not counting fins, you may start to see tubes and pairing up.


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## cossie (Dec 19, 2010)

If you watch your Angelfish closely right before the spawning commence, you will however notice a small difference in the size of the papilla between the sexes. The papilla is a pink coloured organ formed between the anal fin and the ventral fin.


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