How to tell if a firefish is male or female?

[chrischin29g]

I bought one today and don't know the sex of it and can't seem to find info on it

[chrischin29g]

Alittle help?

[DarthAWM]

Originally Posted by chrischin29g

Alittle help?

Well you could put a small tv playing football infront of the tank.

If the firefish watches it then it is male. IF it doesn't it is female

To ensure results try Lifetime later. If the results are reversed then you have confirmed it.

[velvetelvis]

Unfortunately, it looks like there isn't a way to visually determine sex in firefish:

http://www.marinebreeder.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1655

[chrischin29g]

Lol actually my tank is next to my tv...ca was watching the cards vs raiders game guessing neither we his/her team.. Man that sucks!

I've read it was ok to keep multiples but if I end up keeping two males

Will they get along

[pinnatus]

I don't think that firefish have an ounce of aggression in their entire beings. They will hide at the drop of a hat, but I have never seen anything close to aggression from a firefish.

[SDguy]

Originally Posted by pinnatus

I don't think that firefish have an ounce of aggression in their entire beings. They will hide at the drop of a hat, but I have never seen anything close to aggression from a firefish.

Oh they are quite adept at killing each other.

[kinlayan]

Gotta agree with Sd on this even in 5000 litre i had one firefish cause another to hide and eventually jump so if they dont like the other one they willl and can kill

[chrischin29g]

Hmm.. So should or shouldn't I get my firefish another friend(s)

[TripleT]

Originally Posted by chrischin29g

Hmm.. So should or shouldn't I get my firefish another friend(s)

You want to keep them singly, or as a mated pair.

Mated pairs should be determined before you bring them home.

Now that you have one, you're better off focusing on other fish.

[Wolverine]

Originally Posted by SDguy

Oh they are quite adept at killing each other.

Yes they are.
They can also convince each other to go carpet surfing.

[chrischin29g]

Lol

Well it's only a 10 gallon do guess he'll be the only one in there

[Big E]

Mated pairs should be determined before you bring them home.

I hate to be a stickler but they only need to be a "bonded" pair. I'm not big on breeding but I don't believe anyone is breeding firefish in captivity.

These aren't any different than pairing other fish. You can create pairs by starting with a group or trial & error till you get a good match. Of course you'll need to remove fish that don't get along.

The mistake people make with these fish is that they see them as groups in stores so they buy a few & plop them in their tank without going through a pairing process like with other fish.

[moogoomoogoo]

I always peek under their flames

[chrischin29g]

Only if it was that easy

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by pinnatus

I don't think that firefish have an ounce of aggression in their entire beings. They will hide at the drop of a hat, but I have never seen anything close to aggression from a firefish.

Unless you have two of the same sex. Which would in the long run make them

[chrischin29g]

Yeah that's what I thought... That's but I decided to just keep him or her
Cause I don't want to buy the same sex

[TripleT]

Originally Posted by pinnatus

I don't think that firefish have an ounce of aggression in their entire beings. They will hide at the drop of a hat, but I have never seen anything close to aggression from a firefish.

Like many cute little fish, it can be very surprising to see just how nasty they can be, when they decide to be.

The triggers can be territory, food, or establishing dominance. In the case of firefish I think it's the latter.

If you see 20 in a tank at the LFS, it's because the bullying is dispersed, and I think in many cases because they are still adjusting to capture.

If you go back, you'll start to see signs of aggression in these tanks. For firefish, look for a lot of missing dorsal fins.

[DarkSephiroth]

Wait till night, whoever on top is the male.

[kinley121]

I don’t under this forum. Because the subject is about determining the sex of firefish I can’t begin to tell what the comments being posted. Either people think this is a joke or no one know the answer. I sure could have a good laugh at some comments posted on the site. If one doesn’t know the answer why bother posting a comment. One can look for other sites for expert advice.

[suta4242]

Either people think this is a joke or no one know the answer

Firefish may be timid in their interactions with other fish, but not with each other IME. The question about sexing isn't easy to answer.

I don't think theres a clear visual differentiation between the sexes. But when I bought a Helfrichi pair two years ago the importer assured me he could differentiate between the fish. He said there were slight differences in markings but, try as I might, I could never differentiate between them. These fish were adults and always slept together, and never swam more than 6" away from each other. I have never seen aggression between them.

But I think its a different story if you buy sexually immature fish and put them together. This may work for a while - even a year, maybe longer. But then one day the aggression begins and a dominant fish can easily kill the other, eg by tearing the submissive one's mouth. In this situation even a big tank won't offer shelter to the loser - instead he'll be pursued until hes badly wounded / dead or has leapt to the floor.

Thats all people are trying to say... IMO no ones laughing at the OP's question - just warning you of what can go wrong if you end up with same sex fish.

HTH

[Apercula]

I am pretty sure that this was a spawning pair. I think the near one was female, she would develop an extended abdomen as in the picture, then would disappear into their burrow for days at a time. He would stand guard at the burrow entrance while she was in it. After a week or so of her not being out much at all she would suddenly be out as normal for a while till this behavior would restart. I never saw any eggs or fry, and I didn't see anything that would distinguish between them most of the time.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by chrischin29g

Lol

Well it's only a 10 gallon do guess he'll be the only one in there

Well, they still like to jump, keep the top tightly covered.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by kinley121

I don’t under this forum. Because the subject is about determining the sex of firefish I can’t begin to tell what the comments being posted. Either people think this is a joke or no one know the answer. I sure could have a good laugh at some comments posted on the site. If one doesn’t know the answer why bother posting a comment. One can look for other sites for expert advice.

Actually, the implied question is whether the OP can have another firefish. Asked and answered. Some of the comments are intentionally funny, life is too short not to have humor.

[snorvich]

Originally Posted by Apercula

I am pretty sure that this was a spawning pair. I think the near one was female, she would develop an extended abdomen as in the picture, then would disappear into their burrow for days at a time. He would stand guard at the burrow entrance while she was in it. After a week or so of her not being out much at all she would suddenly be out as normal for a while till this behavior would restart. I never saw any eggs or fry, and I didn't see anything that would distinguish between them most of the time.

Nice picture! Yes, you are describing the spawning behavior of this species.