Sexing L333

[pointpleco]

Hi,

Been a while since i posted.
I'm seeing if anyone can help me sex these L333. Both are big at 14cm, i thought i had a pair but starting to think maybe both male.
But one has more pectoral fin odontodes and a bit more on it's tail than the other.
And the vent seems to be a little different in shape. Also one seems wider and fatter in the middle but they do get fed well.
So just can't quite work out if a pair or both male.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks Macrae.

[TwoTankAmin]

Do either of them cave? I am asking because my first reaction was they are both female. Its a bit difficult to tell from the vents. Normally a male's will be clearly more pointy (almost triangular) while a female's is more rounded (blob-like). A female has to push out eggs while a male basically needs a squirt gun. Also, if they are both male, I think you would see some evidence of fighting.

That said I am pretty lousy at sexing plecos. The fact that tubes are out is a good sign. If one is usually in the same cave and the other tends to be spotted all over the tank, that would be a good indication it is a pair, but not a guarantee.

Hopefully somebody with decent sexing skills will chime in and have it right for sure.

[pointpleco]

Hi mate, thanks for the response.

They actually both cave (but many of my other L-numbers females cave always and leave to either get trapped by males or eat), also why i think both male. But if both female i will be very happy as males here in Australia are easy to get and cheap, females are never available on their own. Would always have to buy a pair to get a female. And their vents seem to be more of a curved blob. Not so pointy at all. The confusion is the pectoral odontodes as one is a bit hairy. But being big and maybe older i think some females may get them at this stage of life.
And no fighting from them that i have seen, no injuries on them when i had them out yesterday.

Yes sexing is hard, i'm good if one has a very very hairy tail like my 134 do, but with vents i struggle and for some reason 333 trouble me. And they seem to swap around to different caves, i hope this is a sign of 2x females. Maybe i grab a male soon and see if that gets something going in there.

Thanks for your time buddy.
Macrae

[Jools]

My first impression based on body shape when viewed from above was the smaller one was female, the other one maybe too. Adding a sure-fire male should mix it up!

Jools

[pointpleco]

Hi Jools,

Thanks for the input, that's good news to me. I am going to my friends tonight and he has some nice extra males, so i will grab one to add in and see how it goes.

Macrae

[TwoTankAmin]

I know females will cave, but that is not the same thing as claiming a cave. that is a territorial and very male thing to do. Females will shelter or hide in caves, but they will not claim one.

My trick re sexing is always to buy groups. I figure if I get between 7 and 15 I will for sure have both sexes. I have rarely had more than two males spawning in a group whether it was 7 or 15.

Good luck with spawning/ Australia needs as many locally bred fish as they can make

[Koi-fantast]

For me it looks like two females but they doesnt look gravid, that buffels me..

[pointpleco]

I know females will cave, but that is not the same thing as claiming a cave. that is a territorial and very male thing to do. Females will shelter or hide in caves, but they will not claim one.

My trick re sexing is always to buy groups. I figure if I get between 7 and 15 I will for sure have both sexes. I have rarely had more than two males spawning in a group whether it was 7 or 15.

Good luck with spawning/ Australia needs as many locally bred fish as they can make

Yes that’s a good point, females will just hide and swap around which is what these have been doing. They don’t seem to have claimed one spot.

And yes bigger numbers is the best. These came from a friend and we thought we got a pair but now I realize we were wrong.

Thanks and your right there, can be hard to get many species often over here. And then when we do the quality is often not so great.

[pointpleco]

For me it looks like two females but they doesnt look gravid, that buffels me..

Hi,
Yes not gravid at all, I think these could be old fish. They came from my friend that also got from his friend. I picked them up cheap so didn’t say no.
But now hoping they aren’t to old as being 14cm they could be. Hopefully their breeding days aren’t over.
Last night I got a male so I will see how it goes now.

Thanks for your message.

[Koi-fantast]

Size is really good. To me sounds like good upbringing. I believe you need to feed more quality food to fatten them up. I have had 7year old pleco having youngsters.

[pointpleco]

Yes nice size and i also think brought up well. I feed a variety of repashy types, zucchini, protein pellets and hikari carnivores. I think i might start using blood worms aswell. And yes i have heard of them breeding for up to 8 yrs. So good chance to get them to keep going.