# boesemani rainbowfish male or female ID



## shonick (Jun 8, 2010)

I have 3 boesemani rainbowfish. Each in 1 picture.
I'd like to know which one is male or female so i could buy 3 more to have 3 pairs. Please help me identify them. 

Thanks


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi shonick,

1st one is afemale
2nd one looks like a male
3rd one is a male

Some of my Melanotaenia boesemani 'Lake Aytinjo' juvies


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## shonick (Jun 8, 2010)

Thank you Seattle_Aquarist,

The 1st and the 3rd one is the new one i just purchase 2 weeks ago, and it just go to the main tank for 2 days, the 2nd was in the tank for 1 year already and it got big.

The 1st (left bottom), i still feel it is a male since it is young.i maybe wrong though
The 2nd, the big one, are you sure it is a male? It is not that bright and does not have blue on the front half of it body.

Thanks


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi shonick,

So I just went into the other room and spent 20 minutes staring at my 75 gallon with about 20 of the M. boesemani 'Lake Aytinjo' adults in it.
The first one still looks like a female, the reason I say this is the body shape. Don't be fooled by the color in the posterior of the fish, females will have orange there sometimes as well.
The second one still looks like a male, maybe not the best color but the thicker body and flowing finnage certainly indicates male.
The third one looks like a mail with the strong orange coloration in the posterior, obviously younger the body isn't as thick and the finnage hasn't filled out.
-Roy

75 gallon with M. boesemani 'Lake Aytinjo'


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Here's my best guess.

1. Looks like a male to me. Not 100%, but I would still bet on it.
2. Not a Boesemani. Looks like some type of Splendida.
3. Male.


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## lksdrinker (Feb 12, 2014)

Greggz said:


> Here's my best guess.
> 
> 1. Looks like a male to me. Not 100%, but I would still bet on it.
> 2. Not a Boesemani. Looks like some type of Splendida.
> 3. Male.


I have to agree here about that 2nd one not being a bosemani. My LFS sell a few that look similar to that which they call "ornate rainbows". Bosemani dont tend to get that "spotting" of colors on the fins like that.

I'm pretty sure bosemanis are quite easy to sex. On males the blue/orange stripe is vertical and on females its horizontal.


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Seattle_Aquarist said:


>


By the way, not to thread jack, but Seattle Aquarist that looks like a beautiful Rainbow tank. Do you have a tank journal?


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## Avianwing (Dec 15, 2009)

A related question! Has anyone kept Boesemani Rainbows with Black Phanthom tetras? Are they a good combination or will the Boesemanis harass them?​


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## shonick (Jun 8, 2010)

Greggz said:


> Here's my best guess.
> 
> 1. Looks like a male to me. Not 100%, but I would still bet on it.
> 2. Not a Boesemani. Looks like some type of Splendida.
> 3. Male.


Thanks all for the help.

If the 2nd is not Boesemani, then that is weird. Last year, i purchase a punch of boesemani rainbow, turquoise rainbow, and denision barb. That 2nd one is the only one that passed through my quarantine to get to the main tank. If it is not boesemani, and i dont see it is like turquoise rainbow. I thought it is boesemani since it was from that boesemani tank at the fish store. Then what is it, and is it female or male?

Thanks


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

shonick said:


> Thanks all for the help.
> 
> If the 2nd is not Boesemani, then that is weird. Last year, i purchase a punch of boesemani rainbow, turquoise rainbow, and denision barb. That 2nd one is the only one that passed through my quarantine to get to the main tank. If it is not boesemani, and i dont see it is like turquoise rainbow. I thought it is boesemani since it was from that boesemani tank at the fish store. Then what is it, and is it female or male?
> 
> Thanks


I can tell you 100% that is not a Boesemani. Like I said, more than likely some type of Splendida, and looks like a male. There are many different types of Splendida Rainbows. They all have the same general shape and fin structure, but the colors are different depending on where they came from.


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## lksdrinker (Feb 12, 2014)

shonick said:


> Thanks all for the help.
> 
> If the 2nd is not Boesemani, then that is weird. Last year, i purchase a punch of boesemani rainbow, turquoise rainbow, and denision barb. That 2nd one is the only one that passed through my quarantine to get to the main tank. If it is not boesemani, and i dont see it is like turquoise rainbow. I thought it is boesemani since it was from that boesemani tank at the fish store. Then what is it, and is it female or male?
> 
> Thanks





Greggz said:


> I can tell you 100% that is not a Boesemani. Like I said, more than likely some type of Splendida, and looks like a male. There are many different types of Splendida Rainbows. They all have the same general shape and fin structure, but the colors are different depending on where they came from.


Definitely not a bosemani. There are quite a few "hybrid" rainbow fish out there now so it is possible that it could have been spawned by a bosemani crossed with another rainbow of some sort; or its just a different rainbow altogether. Still a good looking fish! Just because the store had a tank labeled "bosemani" doesn't mean that was correct. You'll often see tanks mislabeled at stores.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

How to sex many (not all) rainbows:
Male:
Look at the fish head first, and look at the band from dorsal fin to nose. The male can change this color from the same color as the body of the fish to a cream-yellow band. They do this when they are competing for females. 
Look at the fish from the side. Males develop a significant hump over the shoulder/neck, and often below. This makes the head look small and pointy. The second pic in the initial thread shows the beginning of this development. Some species grow a more obvious hump than others. 
In most species the males will be more colorful, but some species are less colorful, so that a fish that is not very colorful might be a male of one of these less colorful species. As noted above, a hybrid may take on some of the colors of both parents, and look like a less colorful version or be hard to ID to species. 
Some species males have longer fins. 

Female:
No colored band from dorsal to nose. 
Does not develop the hump over or under the shoulder area.
Usually less colorful than the male. 

Note that Rainbows take longer to develop than many other fish, so what looks like a less colorful, perhaps female fish may actually turn out to be a really nice one, once he matures enough to color up well.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Greggz said:


> By the way, not to thread jack, but Seattle Aquarist that looks like a beautiful Rainbow tank. Do you have a tank journal?


Hi Greggz,

Thank you for the kind words. Sorry there is no journal on this tank but if you have questions you may certainly PM me.
-Roy


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## szuch31 (10 mo ago)

shonick said:


> I have 3 boesemani rainbowfish. Each in 1 picture.
> I'd like to know which one is male or female so i could buy 3 more to have 3 pairs. Please help me identify them.
> 
> Thanks


Hello! I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet.... But I do see 2 Bosemani rainbowfish in the picture. However; The fish in the first picture, he's definitely a male AUSTRALIAN rainbowfish. Not a BOESEMANI rainbowfish. But to me, it looks like you have all males. Hopefully this helps, if you have not figured it out already!


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## Mr. Limpet (Dec 26, 2010)

That was a 6 year old post. I wonder if any of the rainbows are still alive.


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## szuch31 (10 mo ago)

Mr. Limpet said:


> That was a 6 year old post. I wonder if any of the rainbows are still alive.


Wow. I didn't realize... if it was an old post from 6yrs ago, why did you respond? There's always good be that ONE smart person!


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