Determining the sex and age of my angelfish

[Ellibo]

It's a bit tricky to gauge the age, but if that helps, the second pic has a balloon molly in it for scale - they're tiny. I've had mine for around 4-5 months, I think. Just wondered.

[sidthy]

You won't know for sure what sex they are unless they breed or a female shows her breeding tube. Age is pretty tough to gauge without knowing the fish's length, Ellibo's right that the balloon molly gives a bit of an idea though.

[Ellibo]

You won't know for sure what sex they are unless they breed or a female shows her breeding tube. Age is pretty tough to gauge without knowing the fish's length, Ellibo's right that the balloon molly gives a bit of an idea though.

I've been looking at diagrams and they all seem to point out distinct differences between males and females - like, males have those forked front fins and a bulkier body with a bumpy forehead, while females have a more angular body, smoother front fins, and a smooth forehead. Problem is, all mine look pretty similar so I've got nothing to compare them to. I was just taking a wild guess with the age, to be honest - if I had to put a length on them, I'd say they're probably around 5-6 inches.

[sidthy]

It's a bit tricky to gauge the age, but if that helps, the second pic has a balloon molly in it for scale - they're tiny. I've had mine for around 4-5 months, I think. Just wondered.

I think you might be referring to the height of the fish, rather than its length.

The thing with sexing domestic Angels is that they're hybrids, so their characteristics can be quite variable. People often think they can tell the difference, but it's not that simple. You see, one of the parent species has a concave head, while the other has a convex head, which makes it tricky to determine the sex of a domestic Angel. Even if you notice a bump on the head, it's not a reliable indicator.

If you were to grow out pure species Angels, you might be able to tell the difference once they mature, but with immature fish, it's impossible. Even with mature fish, it's still just a guess. The only way to be sure is to see a female's egg tube fully extended or eggs, and the only way to confirm a male is if the eggs are fertilised.