Golden Rhomboidalis Wrasse, male or female?

[saltyg135er]

Hey guys & gals,

I got my Golden Rhomboidalis wrasse about 2 weeks ago and wanted to get him/her a partner. Can anyone id if I have a male or femal, also does anyone have a pic if a super make? Thanks

 

[roktsintst]

that is a male.

 

[albano]

that is a male.

Absolutely

 

[snorvich]

No doubt about it. Also, one of my favorite fish.

 

[saltyg135er]

What does a female look like?

 

[LemonLemon]

female rhomboids are pale and duller. the tail is not, or less, elongated that the males.

 

[saltyg135er]

What would happen if I got two males?

 

[LemonLemon]

rhomboids are very peaceful as far as fairy wrasses go, and in my experience, 2 males is fine.

i had 2 males and they did not bother each other at all. however overtime, one of them got less male. but still a male. just less male-ish than the other.

in other fairy wrasses, more than one males could either result in death (in more belligerent species like roseafascia, scott's fairy), or sex change in less aggressive species (in my case, 2 male marjorie fairy, 1 reverted to female.)

 

[bradleyj]

In my case, I bought 2 females for my male. But in time, the 2 females have turned male and I now have 3 males. All seem fine together for now.

 

[iamwrasseman]

its a male and multiples are fine most of the time as the others have stated . absolutely the prettiest fairy wrasse there is !

 

[snorvich]

Actually, bradleyj has three with no issues. Generally a very peaceful, pretty fish.

 

[saltyg135er]

Thanks for all the help, gonna try to find him a wife next time.

 

[pookstreet]

The easiest way to identify a female is by looking at the pelvic fins. Males have more elongated pelvics whereas the females have shorter/stubbier counterparts. You can see in your first photo where the pelvic fins extend well below the body. This is true for most fairy wrasses where the males/females are not truly sexually dimorphic and coloration can change depending on the stress level of the fish.

 

[LemonLemon]

The easiest way to identify a female is by looking at the pelvic fins. Males have more elongated pelvics whereas the females have shorter/stubbier counterparts. You can see in your first photo where the pelvic fins extend well below the body. This is true for most fairy wrasses where the males/females are not truly sexually dimorphic and coloration can change depending on the stress level of the fish.

yes this is a good way of identifying. but it only works for some, not all fairy wrasses.

it does not work for marjorie, walindi, cenderawasih, rubrisquamis, flavidorsalis, lubbocki, adornatus, sanguineus, blatteus, earlei, lanceolatus, roseafascia, bathyphilus, lunatus, johnsoni, jordani, laboutei and exquisitus.

the rest do show varying extensions in males especially pylei, rubrimarginatus, lineatus, rhomboidalis, katherinae, beauperryi, temminckii, rubriventralis - complex,

 

[iamwrasseman]

good info there ~very complete list also .

 

[OceanLover2]

I've had my pair for about 2 years now. I "think" they are still one male and one female. The male is more vividly colored and his tail is bigger, but the female is my favorite as she is curious and comes out to see what 's going on in the tank. I have mostly wrasse, blennies, friendly fish.

 

[saltyg135er]

My male is getting brave. I have a big achalies and a med purple tang. The king achalies will show them who's boss nut will let them eat when it's feeding time. He came out and darted away in the begning but now he is out and swiming around. He just knows how to get out of the way if the achailes wants to show off who's the boss. I just hope the female will be as brave.

When they pair up, do they stay together most of the time like clowns do?

 

[OceanLover2]

My pair generally stay in the same third of the tank with each other (they are in a 140 gallon tank). They do not have to touch all the time like clown fish do. If the female moves to a different section of the tank, then the male generally follows her. My female rhomboid is good friends with my midas blenny and they swim along side each other quite a bit.

When I first got my rhomboids, the female developed a bubble in the skin between her eyes. It worried me that I had just plunked down so much money and she might die. But someone on this forum told me it was stress and it would go away. . . . . . and in a couple of weeks the bump did go away.