My large sturiosoma robustum

[hotplecogirl]

What do you think its sex is??He/she is 11 inches long.

[pleco_breeder]

Female

[hotplecogirl]

thank you,now to find a male.

[summer]

I agree with female

[summer]

altho having said that, and given my recent sturisoma 'sex change' I think the cheeks are a darker colour where the bristles would be, so perhaps it's male after all? My male only grew bristles after a female was added to his tank

[hotplecogirl]

Well i got lucky.My friend wants to give his two away so now with three perhaps i will get a pair.

[apistomaster]

Having more should be helpful. It is not a species of Sturisoma I have ever encountered and 11 inches caught my eye; large species. The male beards can come and go depending on their condition but there is usually a difference between the shapes of the heads between the males and females and the darker "cheek" area is likely a male's feature and is associated with where the beard grows so with a new group and a view of them all from above it should make sexing them fairly easy.
Females seem to not grow quite as long as the males which may help. Among Sturisoma aureum the males often have dusky gray bellies and females a lighter gray or tan bellies. I suspect that is a generic trait among healthy mature fish.

[pleco_breeder]

My experience has been quite the opposite with cheek britstles. My males have lost their bristles from time to time, but there seems to always be a lighter area underneath where the bristles would grow. I've always assumed that it was a means of drawing attention to the "working end" for would be predators.

Larry