Gecko
11-04-2010, 10:31 AM
Wanted to pass on and document this which I picked up with the help of Edmund and Thomas. L25 sexing can be misleading using body shape, color and chew chew only as ID keys.
A female L25 can be a red and radiant 7 pointer and can even look slender and long from the top. These traits are normally associated with a male.
Most males have big, sail fins liked dorsal fin, but need similar sized females for better comparison.
A "thin" first pectoral fin without chew and without odontodes, etc does not mean it is a female, even for very big specimen male over 15". They may have been dominated by another fish or are not in the best condition. Once corrected, the typical male features of thick first ray with odontodes will blossom!
So sexing by papilla when taken with all the above considerations, is the most accurate.
A male pailla is pointed while a female is blunt and hollow (like a straw).
A male will spread his anal fins when turned over, while female uses her anal fins to cup the papilla. Not sure if every female does this.
Hope this helps.
almost 1 footer female seems to be blunt and hollow.
http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/photoplog/images/416/1_Picture_076a.jpg
Male (photo credit: Eric)
http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/photoplog/images/416/1_Male_L25.JPG
A female L25 can be a red and radiant 7 pointer and can even look slender and long from the top. These traits are normally associated with a male.
Most males have big, sail fins liked dorsal fin, but need similar sized females for better comparison.
A "thin" first pectoral fin without chew and without odontodes, etc does not mean it is a female, even for very big specimen male over 15". They may have been dominated by another fish or are not in the best condition. Once corrected, the typical male features of thick first ray with odontodes will blossom!
So sexing by papilla when taken with all the above considerations, is the most accurate.
A male pailla is pointed while a female is blunt and hollow (like a straw).
A male will spread his anal fins when turned over, while female uses her anal fins to cup the papilla. Not sure if every female does this.
Hope this helps.
almost 1 footer female seems to be blunt and hollow.
http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/photoplog/images/416/1_Picture_076a.jpg
Male (photo credit: Eric)
http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/photoplog/images/416/1_Male_L25.JPG