The Puffer Forum

I have five dwarf puffers and two have the wrinkles behind their eyes that make me think they are males. They don't have the tiny dots on their backs that the females get. But, they don't have the dark lines on their bellies yet, although they are probably four to five months old. Should they have the line by now? At what age do they develop the line? Can the females sometimes appear to have the eye wrinkles?

Thanks,

Lainey

Only the males have wrinkles:
library/puffers-in-focus/sexing-carinot ... rf-puffer/

When do the males get the line on their belly? Mine seem full grown. I can't understand how they could have wrinkles but no belly line?

Lainey

My DP's are about the same age as yours, maybe a month older. The boys don't have their lines *yet* but some days Blow has a little goatee that sticks down out of his chin. I think they get darker as they age? I bet one day you'll notice one, when a boy is in the right mood. I don't think grown as in size=sexually mature.

So you think they are males due to the wrinkles and the goatees?

Mine have the goatees too:)

Lainey

pics?

My adult female has a goatee and it forms a very short line.

If you have light colored substrate, that could be why he doesn't show the line.

My camera isn't going to let me get anything good enough to see what we are talking about.

Overall I just don't feel certain of their sexes, that is why I am looking for the line. I see something that looks like a wrinkle or two on the females, back by the gills, but then, I feel sure those are females because they have the tiny dots on their backs. So I'm really not sure I even know how to sex the males based on the wrinkles. And now the goatee seems to be in question...

I have dark substrate...

I guess I just have to keep waiting - but I was hoping to breed them and if they are only going to live for a year or two, and they are nearly six months and no dark lines in sight...not sure how this is going to work.

Lainey

These pics are a couple months old but you can see how the male's spots have formed a line along his side. He also has a darker olive color on the top of his head and has much more yellow/gold color around his tail and belly. http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk16 ... 1296956536 He also has a very noticeable belly line.

The female has a lighter and rounded belly. She also has smaller more defined spots along her side and of course no wrinkles. http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk16 ... CI0107.jpg

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk16 ... CI0099.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk16 ... CI0112.jpg

She has grown nearly as big as him now. These two are now in a 29g with an older juvenile that I'm pretty sure is a female. I'll add one more if I can find a female old enough to sex.

Mine are pretty big & I've never seen a line on my male but the wrinkles have been visible since he was 1/2".

I have wrinkles and a goatee. Glad to hear that makes me an adult male. My wife often says otherwise.

The belly line is not permanent - or not always or all males. I've always considered it a color change showing that the male is in the mood. When they are actually mating the male has a "keel" along that belly line, plus a (to me anyway) much less obvious one down his back. I've always considered that dark line a change in color, part of the spawning act, with the dark line the first hint of readiness to spawn. I think there has to be a receptive female around for the whole thing to develop and show just before they really get to the egg-laying business.

FWIW