Golden Honey Gouramis - sexing

[Minders]

Does anyone know how to sex the Golden Honey Gouramis? There's tons of information on the red kind, but I see nothing to do with the golden ones. I have two goldens, and I THINK they're both male. I would like to get females for them, but have NO IDEA what to look for. Can anyone help?

One of the shops near me has a tank full of them and he says they just came in as Golden Honey Gouramis - mixed. So they are apparently male and female, but it's so hard to tell the difference. There are some little ones that have a brown line down their sides, but none of the larger ones have this. I'm guessing this is just peculiar to juveniles?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[ronin]

I've been trying to figure this out myself since I've been looking for a female for my solitary male. I've been able to find some info here:

http://www.wetpetz.com/honeygourami.htm

According to them your horizontally-striped ones could be female. And I also received the following reply from a breeder on aquabid:

"Yes very easy [to sex] only if they are mature adults. Males will have a longer pointed dorsal fin, longer or larger body, Females will have fuller shorter body. When females are mature you will see the eggs. The females will have a bump, and will look very fat until they spawn."

Unfortunately I haven't been able to confirm either; the few remaining gouramis at my LFS all seem to be male so I have yet to know what a female one looks like.

Anyway, hope this helps at least a little and please post if you find any other info. Thanks!

[thegirlundertherainbow]

are paler in comparison to the males..but first and foremost, as with I think, all gouramies, the dorsal fin is more pointed in males..and more rounded infemales..but this becomes more obvious with age. With Honeys ,though, the color is a big giveaway.. for the most part, normally, you will find males in pet shops..females aren't as pretty and many don't carry them. Or they carry many fewer females than males.

[glass-gardens.com]

As a rule gouramis can be sexed just by looking at the dorsal fins, the males have a more pointed dorsal fin, females more rounded, to the extent that it's hard to make a mistake.

In addition,in some of the species, the males have all the color, in others they have more color, sometimes it's only evident during courtship rituals.

[Minders]

Thanks, that's more information than I've been able to find after months of searching online.

I've had these guys for around 6-9 months and they've always got on fine. But recently, there has been some agression between them. One is definitely chasing the other. Also, he(?) seems to have a little darkening, around his gills and belly. Not a lot, just like "5'o'clock shadow. I wonder if this is the Golden's version of the colouring up that the red honey's do when they're in breeding condition? They're in a 2ft (80L) tank. I wonder if it would be wise to separate them? If it's two males and one is harrassing the other, will one get hurt? I'd hate to think of the "beta" male getting beat up.

There's a very small bit of plant matter floating at the top, and one keeps going up to look at it and does a few small bubbles. I think I'm getting the idea of what's going through his mind. Thus my rekindled interest in finding a female!