Can any one help me

[Anthony Smith]

Hi there i am really new to this but would like to know. How do you tell the diffrence between male and female discus. Thank you. Anthony

[Dave66]

Anthony,
It's very difficult to delineate the sexes of the domestic strains of Discus. However, there are two ways. The first is looking down from the top of the tank, as the female Discus are visibly wider than the males. The second is venting the fish; in other words, turning the fish upside down, gently spreading the vent with your fingers, and looking. The male has a pointed object inside his vent, the female is rounded.

Welcome to the forum, by the way.

Dave

[bushwhacker]

would that only apply to adults dave?

[Dave66]

would that only apply to adults dave?

Yes, bushwhaker. Forgot to put that they have to be adults to view them from the top to tell the differences. Of course, in wild discus males are visibly stronger colored than females.

Dave

[alittlered]

In some varieties of discus you can tell by the slope of the forehead (the females have a pointier face) you may also be able to tell by the tail fins, the males are rounder in some species. But to see this you have to have a few of the same species... I spent alot of time in front of the aquarium at my fish store before I could pick out the males from the females of the melon face discus. They thought I was nuts, but I wanted to know before I started getting them.