The ancestors of the angelfish, or as it is also called, angel fish, got into aquariums from the slow-flowing reservoirs of the Amazon. Having a calm, peaceful disposition, this fish gets along in a common aquarium with almost all other types of non-aggressive fish and has earned the popularity of many aquarists. But how to distinguish a female from a male in a scalar?
Instructions
Step 1
If one of the goals of keeping scalars is their reproduction, then you should know that sexual maturity in these fish occurs on average at the age of seven months to one year. Kept by a school of 6-10 fish, scalars choose their own partners and pair up for breeding. It is not difficult even for an inexperienced aquarist to determine the formed pair - these fish begin to keep aloof from the general mass and begin to look for an angle suitable for laying eggs.
Step 2
As a rule, after this, the pairs are deposited in a separate aquarium or separated in a common aquarium by a partition, so that after the eggs are laid, other fish cannot destroy it.
Step 3
Sexual differences in scalars are rather weak. In young fish that have not reached the age for reproduction, sexual characteristics are practically absent. During puberty, the male's dorsal fin becomes longer and more stripes appear on its back. The body of sexually mature males is somewhat larger than that of females of their age.
Step 4
You can also distinguish a male from a female scalar by the characteristic forehead. In the male, the frontal part of the head becomes convex and resembles a hump, while in the female, on the contrary, it becomes slightly concave. The belly of the female, which is preparing for breeding, swells from the ripening eggs.
Step 5
During the spawning period, the male scalar can be distinguished from the female by the sharp and narrow vas deferens. At the same time, the ovipositor forms in the female, which acquires a wide and short shape, reminiscent of a tube. Before spawning, these differences between males and females are practically absent.
Step 6
It should be remembered that scalars are monogamous. If one of the partners dies or is transplanted into another aquarium, the fish may die, injuring themselves on objects in the aquarium or even jumping out of it.
