Determining Cirrhilabrus lubbocki sexes vs color variations

[screwtape]

I'm having some trouble determining how to get a C. lubbocki trio (male/2 females) so I'm hoping someone out there has experience sexing this fish.
There are lots of conflicting reports out there of how to sex this fish and I really have no desire to receive multiple male lubbocki wrasses when I make my order.

Most recently I've seen from multiple sources via google searches that this is the male http://www.luizrocha.com/fish/C_lubbocki1.jpg ,
and that this is the female: http://www.luizrocha.com/fish/C_lubbocki2.jpg .

However there are a few sources that I believe to be pretty reliable, one being the one relatively definitive site (or so I've been told) for specific fish information.
http://fishbase.org/photos/thumbnailssummary.php?ID=13041
Here, I believe the pictures are labeled with the sex, male, female or unidentified (Or unsexed, whatever the U stands for in the filename). Ignoring the unidentified pictures, there seems to be two clear color variants coinciding with Luiz Rocha's pictures above, there also seems to be a clear third variant associated with females, the fish that is almost solid pink with a black tail spot.

Also Scott Michael's latest wrasse book (which I don't happen to actually own right now but have specifically looked this up in) seems to agree.

I also found this thread here on RC that seems to support this idea. To me this seems to be more likely but I'm not extremely experienced here so I'm looking for any other opinions or input.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=463869&page=2

Does anyone have any thoughts, or experience with this? Who do I believe? I really just want to have the best chances at observing courting behavior and maybe if I'm lucky having them spawn in my tank (not that I will necessarily be trying to raise them any time soon).

Thanks!

 

[IFbettas]

The fish in the first two links that you posted are both males, just different color variations. The females are solid red with a black spot on the caudal peduncle.

 

[wrasseguy2]

ok a female lubbocki is all pink with a blck dot near the caudal peduncle (near the tail)..the problem with finding females is that unless they come as a trio it is hard to tell and the mix with another closely realted fairy the yellow fin c. flavidorsalis and the females of this one looke the same..also the females of the c. adornatus are also pink like the other two and have a dot at the caudal peduncle..so nowing where they are collected from is key but like i said the lubbocks and yellowfin both come out of the philippines/indonesia area and the adornatus comes only from sumatra...there are three color morphs of the lubbocki that i know of..i have kept two of them..the first two link you posted are males..here are pics of the what i kept..female first then the males..so long story short it is hard to tell if you have a female lubbocki if you just by one say at a store..because there are a few other fairys that the females look the same

this is a bad pic of a female

bad pics of the same female that changed into a male

this is another color varient

same male displaying

 

[screwtape]

Thanks for the comments it sounds like you are both on board with fishbase. Although now of course, I'm concerned about accurately tracking down the female if they're that difficult to distinguish, this doesn't ever seem to be easy.

That before and after transition of the same female is pretty ideal evidence for me thanks for posting that, that is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for!

If anyone else has any pics of a lubbocki transitioning into the other color variety (purple with yellow dorsal fin) I would love to see it too.

I wonder if I get 3 females from a particular shipment what the chances are that they would all be either a lubbocki or flavidorsalis (this is the yellowfin I believe?). As long as they were one species I wouldn't really mind. In fact I like the flavirdorsalis as well. Any ideas on that?

 

[jhawkor]

A trio of C. lubbocki is going to be beautiful. Where do you plan to order from?

 

[screwtape]

A trio of C. lubbocki is going to be beautiful. Where do you plan to order from?

I'm not sure, I'm talking to Vivid about getting them right now, if that doesn't work out for some reason I'll try somewhere else.

 

[iamwrasseman]

wrasseguy has it 100% correct as the really differ between male and female .

 

[screwtape]

Thanks for all the help everyone, I'm feeling quite confident about this now.