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Have you wondered if your Goldfish is a male or female? At a glance, they may all look the same. But if you are into breeding Goldfish, you better not have all males inside the tank.

These are some methods that can be used to recognize the sexes of Goldfish, but even these are useless unless the fish are at least a year old, i.e., have attained sexual maturity.

1. Midline ridge: male goldfish have a ridge running through the back of pelvic fins to their vent opening on the underside. The ridge is either completely missing or smaller in females.

2. Firmness of abdomen: The area between pelvic and anal fins is pliable for females but very firm for males.

3. Shape of the vent: Though difficult to figure out, the female vent is rounder and convex, whereas the male vent is thinner and concave.

4. Shape of the pectoral fins: Male pectoral fins are pointed with stiffer leading ray and female pectorals are rounded, shorter with finer front fin ray.

5. Features: females are brighter colored and are more active. This could be a difficult way of pointing out a female but you could try!

6. Check out: One theory says that you can introduce a known female into the tank and watch for the reaction of fish. Males will check out the new fish but the females will show no interest!

The only way you can learn to spot male and female goldfish is by closely observing known males and females and noticing their various traits. A pet shop could be a nice place to learn this.

During spawning season it will be easier because the male will follow and nudge the female relentlessly sometimes even bruising and injuring the female. Finally, it's only your experience that will give you any degree of confidence of judging the sexes by looking at them in a tank. Difficult but definitely not impossible!

Ong Hui Woo
http://www.tothefish.com