Sexing Bluestripe pipefish

[mollymonticello]

Does anyone have a really clear, close up photo of a confirmed female bluestripe? Does anyone know if the females have clear, small bumps on their snouts?

I've seen 9 bluestripes up close and in person. Each and every one of them had bumps on the snout. Some had clear, small bumps. I am wondering if the females also have bumps.

[rssjsb]

Sorry, I don't have a picture, but females do have bumps on their snouts. The difference between these and the male's snouts is obvious when the two are next to each other, but is not so obvious in isolation.

Females are also round through the body - males have distinctively flat, almost concave, bellies. Again, obvious unless you've never seen one before.

I think the reason you're seeing so many females is that they're much hardier than the males. At least that's been my experience with them.

[mollymonticello]

Thanks for your reply. No, actually I am seeing what I thought were all males. Also, I have 2 bluestipes. One is definitely a male. When I first got them, they fought terribly. The second one is round and has smaller, clear bumps on the snout. I wonder if it's a female, and why they were fighting.

[rssjsb]

Hmm. Have they settled down? I think if they were both males one would be dead, but maybe they didn't get the memo.

I've also had females kill other females. I'd like to find another male for my female, but I've already lost two males and I'm reluctant to risk it again.

[mollymonticello]

Hmmm again. I actually have one in the refugium and one in the tank. One is a confirmed male, and I assumed the other was male because they were fighting when I first got them. In August, they were in a 20 long quarantine, each was about an inch and a half long at most. I put in a divider and they would snick at each other through the clear divider all day long. One looks like a female, has a round body and clear, small bumps on snout. I am so baffled.

[danfrith]

I'm almost postive the females never get bumbs. I've had my girl for 3 years this june and she has yet to grow a single small bumb on her snout. Males are always the ones with the bumbs. Good luck.

[Wiljuchi]

Hi All,
If a blue stripe pipe fish is the small blue/gold ones then when I used to keep them it was easy to sex them, you just look at the undersides of them... the females are round and the males have a flat area with the fine slit of the pouch visible... When i used to go to the aquarium store I used to get them to back a few up and look at them from underneath.

Hope that helps...

:-)
Jules

[mollymonticello]

I am starting to think my 2 "males" are females! I saw a "for sure" male the other day, and I could see the flat area on the belly. Neither of mine have that. I just can't figure out why they fight so badly.

Here is a picture of one of mine, is this a girl?

<img src="http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/6185/marsou2.jpg">

[panmanmatt]

That looks female to me. If you had one of the pipes and then introduced the other at a later time they could possibly fight. I had a female that was established in a tank for about 5-6 months. I introduced another female and my original one killed her in about 4 days.

I had 2 that were introduced at the same time that got along fine.

[rssjsb]

On the other hand, I once introduced two at the same time and the smaller one didn't last the night. Two females together are risky without a male.

Yours definitely looks like a female, and it sounds like you don't want those two together. Maybe if you added a male at the same time, but it could still be a risk.

[acrodave]

I say thats a male it has flaps on the nose...my male has flaps and female is smooth

[mollymonticello]

Thanks, Matt, that's what I thought. I've seen males with really flat bellies. This one (its name is Mars) does not have a very flat belly. It's full grown and pretty big for a blue stripe. I got Mars and Snickers at the same exact time, acclimated, and quarantined them both together. They fought immediately. I never imagined that getting a male could fix the problem. I think I'll leave well enough alone. I love both my pipes :) Maybe I'll get one male and put it in the main tank with Mars.

acrodave, I don't know how good your up-close eyesight is, but maybe you could get a magnifying glass and take a look at that female's snout again. How old is she? If she is young or small, they might not be noticeable. And the bumps on the female will be clear.

[Wiljuchi]

Doesn't look like a male to me... mine was much flater than that...