If you've had alot of experience observing lionfish, especially in groups, you may take a well educated guess, but it will still be a guess. With the exception of the fuzzy, the males will have 6 or more bands on their pectoral fins, a female will have 4-6 bands, so ones with 6 bands can be a toss up. Some of the clues of determining the sex of the 6 band fuzzy and other lions is that the male will be larger, and have a larger more square head. Their pectoral fins will reach into the caudal peduncle while the female's pectoral fins will not reach pass the base of the caudal peduncle. These observations need to be with mature individuals, the dwarf being over 4.5-5", the medium bodied over 5", and the large ones over 7". A male fuzzy may display male bands smaller but to take a better guess at a female, she'll need to be close to 5", as some males are late bloomers.
Here's a male fuzzy, count the bands
A verified male zebra, you ask how I verified, I dissected him after his death and visually observed his gonads. Notice the squarer head, there was also a bit if angst between him and two other male fuzzies that shared the tank over the years. Same species males seem to be more aggressive towards each, different species a little angst but not usually serious. Females tend to get along fine.
A suspected female zebra, notice the head a little more slanted and the pectoral fins fall well short of the caudal peduncle. She also hangs with the male fuzzy and there is never signs of angst. She is a good 5" and a good eater, but in relationship to other suspected males I've observed smaller in size at the same point.
A verified female fu manchu, I visually observed her ovaries after death. It was pretty remarkable, she was with me over 8 years, her ovaries were all shriveled up from be an old girl. They live closer to the 10 year mark in the 10-15 average lifespan in the wild. The larger lions live closer to the 15 year mark. She was a big girl but notice her slanted head.
Remember this is all subjective as one person will see one thing, and another something different. Just a little entertainment and fun for the evening.
Here's a male fuzzy, count the bands
A verified male zebra, you ask how I verified, I dissected him after his death and visually observed his gonads. Notice the squarer head, there was also a bit if angst between him and two other male fuzzies that shared the tank over the years. Same species males seem to be more aggressive towards each, different species a little angst but not usually serious. Females tend to get along fine.
A suspected female zebra, notice the head a little more slanted and the pectoral fins fall well short of the caudal peduncle. She also hangs with the male fuzzy and there is never signs of angst. She is a good 5" and a good eater, but in relationship to other suspected males I've observed smaller in size at the same point.
A verified female fu manchu, I visually observed her ovaries after death. It was pretty remarkable, she was with me over 8 years, her ovaries were all shriveled up from be an old girl. They live closer to the 10 year mark in the 10-15 average lifespan in the wild. The larger lions live closer to the 15 year mark. She was a big girl but notice her slanted head.
Remember this is all subjective as one person will see one thing, and another something different. Just a little entertainment and fun for the evening.
