THE OLD SEXING OSCARS QUESTION

Hi y'all,

I know this question has come up before and nearly everyone says that you can't sex them by sight alone. However I remember hearing something about sexing them by checking their 'little private holes' after they have been well fed. If the front hole is smaller it's a boy/girl, if they are of equal size, it's a boy/girl. Can anyone help me?

Many thanks

 

Some people don't believe venting is a reliable method of sexing oscars (I've gotten into a huge discussion about it before on another forum). Personally, I think it's valid and I've talked to someone who breeds oscars and he swears by venting. That said, it's not always easy especially to someone who has never vented fish before and it is nearly impossible when the oscars are less than 4". Plus, sometimes the only way to get a good look is to remove the fish from the water which isn't always easy and can damage the fish's slime coat.

But when my oscars where around 6" I found that I could get them to swim towards the top of the tank so that I got a very good look at their undersides and I was able to vent them w/o removing them from the tank.

This is a female (oO)


And this is a male (oo)



Pretty much the only other way to sex them (short of dissection) is to look at their breeding tubes when they're actually spawning. The male's will be pointed (V) and the female's will be blunt (U). And obviously the one laying the eggs will be female, but that doesn't necessarily mean the other one is male. Sometimes two females will go through the spawning ritual. Only after you get fertilized eggs is it safe to say the other one is male.

-Chelle

 

I cant tell the diffrence in those pics what am i looking for?

 

In the female (1st pic), the back hole is larger than the front one (oO). In the male (2nd pic) both holes are really close to the same size (oo).

-Chelle

 

that way to vent is pretty difficult to do in my experience.

 

Ah now i see thanks for pointin it out

 

I'll agree, it's not easy. I've vented tons of african cichlids and it's a heck of a lot easier to vent them correctly than oscars. But I still believe it's possible with oscars, just not easy since the size difference isn't as noticeable as it is with africans.

-Chelle

 

Is it possible in central american chiclids such as firemouths? -tl

 

yes, you can use that way in CA cichlids as well

 

Just thought i would point outt i tried this and i found out my oscar is a female. After chasing it around the tank it gave up and let me hold it upside down while i sat there and looked at it :lol: