Male or Female?

Jayded

New member
My LFS gave me a gorgeous G. Smithii in time for christmas just the other day. For the first time I dont need to re-check an ID.. there is no doubt what it is! It looks exactly like the pictures on Dr Roys list.
Anyways, to my question, is there anything to distinguish male or females in G. Smithii?
I am just curious. It is quite big, approx 2.5-3inches. Id like to give it a name since it has so much personality and all. Seems like a fairly agressive eater. I fed a krill it using a plastic fork with one prong tonight and it launched at it wrapping around the fork while pulling off the krill... really cool to watch. Then it sat in the sunken ship ornament which was already in the tank I put it in to eat it... which is also cool to watch as its often hanging out a window or something...
Anyways thanks in advance for any help!
And Merry Christmas!!!!! :)
 
get him or her to rear up on the glass or to rear up at all, and look between the last two pair of walking legs and if you see skinny leg looking things pointing inward it is a male and if you see two dark spots close together in between the last two legs then it is a female
 
Mattyice has it right about the gonopods (penise). Look for a pair of tubes about a third the length of the walking leg hanging down from the inside of the last pair of walking legs. In females, the gonopores (vagina) into which the gonopods fit are located on the ventral midline between the FIRST pair of walking legs. They form a figure-8 structure and are ususally a bit lighter than the surrounding cuticle.

Female G. smithii may be a bit lighter green than males, but their is so much overlap you cannot use this as a reliable character to sex them.

Roy
 
Thanks heaps, I will have to wait until it explores a bit more to get a better look. I should have examined it when it was still in the bag! Starting to get more curious though so Im sure I can find out soon enough!
 
Back
Top