Recieved a female rhomboid instead of a male?

[RDMike]

Hey guys...I ordered a male rhomboid wrasse from your guys and comparing it with pictures of a male vs female rhomboid...Im starting to think I got a female instead of the male I ordered. Every male I have seen online either whether its a super male or a regular male it's coloration is yellow with a bluish tint to the fins.

The rhomboid wrasse

Picture of a typical male rhomboid

Typical female rhomboid

Please let me know. Thanks -Mike

 

[BlueZooAquatics]

Hey Mike. It is a little hard to tell from the picture you sent because the pelvic fins are not shown but it appears to be a male. I looked at the order history and at the time we shipped your order, we didn't have any more females in stock so I think you did get a male. Check out this photo taken by Tanaka of a young male and compare it. Coloration is really not the best indicator as the females and the young males are very similiar.

http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=25763&what=species

Hope that helps.

 

[RDMike]

So the females dont have the pelvic fins? I know this fish does...Do you know how long before this male gets its true male colors?

 

[BlueZooAquatics]

Its hard to say really. One trick we use to get male wrasses to flash their colors is to add a female of the same species. You can also try adding males of different species if the tank is large enough. That will cause the males to start flashing each other and thus keeping color sharp. It looks like your male is really fat which is good. Just keep it well fed and it will do great. Hope that helps.

 

[Urchinhead]

I have had both male and female Rhomboids and did a bit of research on them. For what its worth please keep in mind the following...

These fish are hermaphroditic. A female will change into a male if there are no other more dominant males in the tank. Until it becomes a 'super' or 'terminal' male. The photo you use to show a male looks like one that is very close to if not completely transformed to super/terminal male. This means its the dominant male on the reef.

Its also harder to find females usually as the super males/males are the ones that are in highest demand.

So odds are you have a male that hasn't gone 'super'/'terminal' yet. You can push this by getting a female rhomboid or another male fairy wrasse if you tank is big enough. You can keep wrasse on wrasse aggression down by feeding more heavily.

 

[RDMike]

I currently have a male lineatus from Bluezooaquatic...
I have a 75 gallon..
they both get a long great..
I was thinking about adding a male flame as well