Bangaii Cardinals
- Thread starter DevilBoy
- Start date
Cerebral Fish
New member
The males have a more robust jaw structure because of their mouthbrooding duties.
In this article, Dr. Frank Marini discusses how to sex Banggai cardinalfish.
Wolverine
Premium Member
As Frank will tell you (especially if he checks in here), the guidelines in that article don't hold up very well. Our current pair were indistinguishable until the male was carrying eggs (now the male is smaller, since he's gone a couple of months without eating). In our last pair, the female had the larger jaw and the longer second dorsal.
If you follow the rules in the article, you have an approximately 50% chance of getting a pair. If you go to the store, and watch a tank full of them, if you watch closely for a while, you'll see that some of them have naturally paired off. That's your best bet (though it's a challenge keeping track of both of them in the chaos of catching them). At one of the stores I used to go to in Omaha, they would catch and separate those pairs, so they were easier to track down when someone wanted a set.
If you follow the rules in the article, you have an approximately 50% chance of getting a pair. If you go to the store, and watch a tank full of them, if you watch closely for a while, you'll see that some of them have naturally paired off. That's your best bet (though it's a challenge keeping track of both of them in the chaos of catching them). At one of the stores I used to go to in Omaha, they would catch and separate those pairs, so they were easier to track down when someone wanted a set.
This is by far the best way. Anatomical differences are more problematical.
