PlanetCatfish.com

You may remember when I bought my two L15's about a year and a half ago. They were maybe 2.5" - 3" at the time, and now must be around the 4" mark. I've never been sure about their sex and can only observe their behaviour to see if that gives any clues. They do tussle from time to time, and often seem to swim in tandem around the tank. They're quite active and love a bit of courgette! I've looked at all the pictures showing how to sex them, and I see the male develops spiky odontodal growth along his tail. Neither of mine show any sign of this, they are totally smooth, though both have cheek bristles and one has longer bristles than the other.

Does anyone know if tail spikes only appear when they want to breed (if it's a male obviously), or will they develop anyway, as the fish matures? I don't know the exact age of the fish, though they were approaching 3" when I got them and I've had them a year and a half. Here are a few pics I took the other night, not sure if it's the same fish or not to be honest. I can't remember. I can try and get more pictures if anyone wants them, but I can tell you, neither have any trace of tail spikes. Though both are quite chunky, one perhaps has a slightly stockier head than the other.

I have a male, and it's fairly obvious on the tail that it's a male.

Thus, I think yours are female, but you can't be 100% sure unless they are spawning.

Unfortunately, it's hard to tell which is which in the shops.

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Mats

Well if both of mine turn out to be female, maybe you and I should set our fishes up on a blind date sometime I haven't seen these fish in the shops since I bought mine so the chance of getting a male is pretty slim at the moment! I like to keep things in pairs if I can.

One thing I have noticed about them is just how much more active they are since I upgraded my filter. The flowrate is greatly increased, as is the oxygen, and the plecs, and all the catfish for that matter, have been much more lively and active ever since.

The local Maidenhead Aquatics (Guidlford branch) has had them for quite some time as a regular item - but I haven't been in for several weeks (months?), so they may not have any right now...

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Mats

I got mine from Maidenhead Aquatics here in Bristol actually. But haven't seen them since. Perhaps if the Guildford Branch has some, they could do an inter-store transfer or something? Hmmm... worth asking I suppose. Thanks for the info!