Tips on Sexing Discus Fish

Do you have some adult discus fish and want to know whether they are male or female. In this article I'm going to share with you some of the tips and techniques you can use to determine the gender of your discus or those you wish to buy.

First of all, know that these are only guides and they are not always 100% correct as in some circumstances females have male characteristics and males have female ones.

Here are ways to determine the sex of your discus

1, The dorsal and anal fins

Take a good look at the dorsal and anal fins of your discus. Are they rounded or are they pointed. Males tend to have pointed dorsal and anal fins or sometimes have extended growth on the end rear of the dorsal fin. Females tend to have rounds rear fins.

2, The colour and pattern of your discus

Please look at the colour and pattern of your discus fish, compare them to one another in the tank. Some fish will hopefully have more intense colour and some discus will have more pattern. Male discus fish tend to have less intense colour but have more pattern while the female tends to be more colourful but with lesser pattern.

3, Size of the discus

Compare the size of your discus. Male discus tend to be bigger than the females but the size can also depend on whether the fish was stunted or are just small in genetic make up.

I hope these three tips have helped you to sex your discus and will help you when selecting adult discus fish from a shop or dealer.

If you liked this information and want to learn more about discus fish care and breeding discus please check out my website discus-fish-secrets.com

Rob owns Discus Fish Secrets website helping begginners and advanced fishkeepers with discus problems including keeping and breeding them. Please visit the site for more information on breeding discus.