Safe Sexing of my Stomatopod
- Thread starter Ms. K
- Start date
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
If it stands along side the side of the tank, you should be able to see the gonopods of a male. They are at least a third as long as the third walking leg and are pretty hard to miss. The tube extends from the inside of the base of the third walking leg and extends down and toward the middle. If the animal is really large - over 5 inches, a male will be emerald green; a female will be olive or even brown.
Finally, there is one character that all adult sexually mature males have that differs from that of females and immature males. If you discover it, you can see the difference 10 feet away. I have challenged people to come up with this key trait for a couple of years, but so far, no one has.
Roy
Finally, there is one character that all adult sexually mature males have that differs from that of females and immature males. If you discover it, you can see the difference 10 feet away. I have challenged people to come up with this key trait for a couple of years, but so far, no one has.
Roy
Ms. K
New member
Thanks, Dr. Roy. I wasn't sure if I would be able to see the gonopods from a side view, so I thought I'd ask. I'm pretty certain this is a female. She's very large, is olive green to tan on top. I noticed some signs of possible shell disease this morning. She has a small hole near her leopard spots on the carapace, and very teeny pinpoint hole on the next to the last segment before her telson. Is there anythign that I can do to minimize this, or hsould Ijust watch for signs of spreading? I read your post about swabbing, which I could probably do. though, I know you said it was tricky and speculative, as it hadn't been tried with peacocks. She's pretty laid back, contrary to what the former owner stated. I think he just harrassed her on a daily basis until she whacked something. I was trying to remove something from the tank with a net and accidentally almost smacked her in the face. She postured but didn't strike.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Sounds like a female. In general, females are less prone to get shell disease than males. I have no idea why. THe small holes sound like she has it, but I would probably try to get her through a molt to see if she can recover on her own. Push the food with supplements, make sure she has a dark burrow, and watch the water quality including nitrate. Good Grief - that sounds like "take two asperin and call me in the morning" - Sorry.
Roy
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Nope!
Roy
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
No and No.
Roy
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
No, not the telson.
Roy
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Actually, I'm laughing at myself as much as at anyone. I've studied O. scyllarus since the mid-70's and have kept hundreds of them. This extremely obvious sexual dimorphism was right under my nose and I never noticed it. It is even clearly visible in several of the images that I use in my seminar slides.
Roy
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
No. There is generally a color difference in that males are green and females brown or olive, but there is a lot of variation. I have seen mature males that were brown or olive and I have seen green females.
Roy
Roy
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
The raptorial appendage dactylus color is not sexually dimorphic.
Roy
Roy
