To be or not to be female?

[ohgollie_molly]

After going to my LFS over the weekend and purchasing 2 swordtails, which what i thought were ONE male and ONE female... Im thinking I got 2 males... I know that the male has a very pronounced sword shape in their tail, and the females have none at all??? With the 2 I purchased, one is obviously a male but the other one I am unsure of, because it has a very slight sword shape in the tail. How can I be sure if what I got is a female?

 

[Lotus]

Swordtail males will show their sword late in life, sometimes. If there is a dominant male, the other male will have a much shorter sword. You need to check for a gonopodium.

If you look at the image here: http://home.earthlink.net/~ecotank/id26.html you will see what the gonopodium looks like; it's an elongated, tubular fin by the anus.

 

[ohgollie_molly]

ok so I got 2 males instead of 2 females... blah... Im running out of tank space, and I didn't need another male!! I need to get another tank going soon...

Thanks fr your input Lotus, it's much appreciated! *thumbsup2

 

[Lotus]

Maybe call the store and ask if you can swap him for a female. If you plan to breed them, it's much better if you can have two females to each male, to spread the "love" out a little

 

[ohgollie_molly]

That was the plan... I'll give them a call tomorrow and see if it's an option..
Keep your fins crossed *GOLDFISH*