Sexing Goldfish

<body bgcolor="#CCCCFF" background="../../back4.jpg" text="#0000FF" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" leftmargin="0" rightmargin="0" topmargin="0" bottommargin="0" class="main"> <a name="top"></a> <p align="center" class="headlink"><br> | <a href="../../index.htm" target="_top">Home</a> | <a href="in-m.htm" target="main">Back to Background Information about Goldfish</a> | <a href="../goldfish.htm" target="_top">Back to Goldfish Varieties</a> |<br>  </p> <h3 align="center">SEXING GOLDFISH</h3> <p align="center">Photographs by Paul Winters</p> <p>Firstly, sexing young and juvenile goldfish is virtually impossible, you have to wait until the fish reach breeding age (usually one year old).</p> <p>Secondly, sexing adult goldfish out of the breeding season is difficult, because the sexually distinguishing features only develop during the breeding season (in the spring time). That said, females may be deeper in the body than males.</p> <h4>Physical sexual characters</h4> <p>During the breeding season, the following physical features develop:</p> <ul> <li>males develop breeding tubercles (white pimples) on the gill covers and on the leading edge of the pectoral fins</li> <li>females develop a deeper body as they fill with roe (eggs), and have a larger vent (just before the anal fin) than the males</li> </ul> <p><strong>Male breeding tubercles</strong></p> <table width="0" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><img src="male_gill_tubercles1.jpg" alt="male breeding season tubercles on gill cover" width="275" height="190" border="0"></td> <td><img src="male_gill_tubercles3.jpg" alt="male breeding season tubercles on gill cover and leading edge of pectoral fin" width="275" height="190" border="0"></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="center"><img src="male_gill_tubercles2.jpg" alt="male breeding season tubercles on leading edge of pectoral fin (gill cover tubercles are out of focus)" width="275" height="190" border="0"></td> </tr> </table> <p>Illustrated above are the small white breeding tubercles that develop on the gill covers and the leading edges of the pectoral fins of males. (No explanation has been seen as to why these develop; if you know, please <a href="../../about/enquiry1.htm" target="_top">contact</a> the Website Author).</p> <p><strong>Vents</strong></p> <table width="0" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><img src="female_vent1.jpg" alt="female goldfish vent" width="275" height="190" border="0"></td> <td><img src="female_vent2.jpg" alt="female goldfish vent" width="275" height="190" border="0"></td> </tr> </table> <p>The female vent enlarges slightly and appears slightly out-turned (convex), as shown above.</p> <p align="center"><img src="male_vent.jpg" alt="male goldfish vent" width="275" height="190" border="0"></p> <p>The male vent remains normal (slightly concave) in appearance, as shown above. (The vent is the common/single orifice for reproduction and excretion).</p> <h4>Behavioural sexual characters</h4> <p>Put quite simply - in the breeding season, males chase after females to induce them to spawn. Easy? No. Why? Because males will chase each other in the absence of females. Use the physical features as well as the chasing behaviour to tell the sexes apart!</p> <p align="center">[<a href="info.htm" target="_top">Back]</a>    [<a href="#top">Top</a>]<br> © Bristol Aquarists' Society<br>  </p> </body>