Firefish Qusstion

[cro55f1r3]

well to all you people that like firefish could you tell me how to tell
firefish's apart as which is male and which is female because i bought 2
of them today and i got one with a tall dorsal fin and another one with
a short dorsal fin
thanks

[happyface888]

The male one has a longer dorsal fine while the female has a shorter one.

[cro55f1r3]

is that the only way to tell them apart? and can they easily breed?

[delsol650]

Maximum Size: The Nemateleotris magnifica grows up to 3 inches.
General Size Specifications: These fish generally will come to you 1 - 3 inches.
Minimum Tank Size: The Firefish Goby prefers a tank of at least 20 gallons with plenty of places to hide & swim.
Diet: The Nemateleotris magnifica is a carnivore and typically likes to eat zooplankton, especially copepods and other crustacean larvae. Although you may need to offer live food when you first introduce the Firefish to the aquarium, it can become accustomed to eating small amounts of frozen foods, such as brine shrimp, and flake foods several times a day. They should readily eat almost anything you offer them.
Level of Care: The Firefish Goby is a low maintenance fish.
Behavior: The Firefish Goby may act peacefully toward other fish, but may fight with its own genus.
Hardiness: This is a hardy fish.
Breeding: Able to breed.
Water Conditions: Keep water quality high (SG 1.020 - 1.025, pH 8.1 - 8.4, Temp. 72 - 78° F).
Range: Indo-Pacific.
General Notes: The Firefish goby is slightly timid but will become bolder with time. Likes plenty of places to hide and is suitable for most reef settings. Will fight with it's own genus and tends to jump. Best if kept alone or in pairs to keep fighting to a minimum.

[raddogz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11420532#post11420532 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by happyface888
The male one has a longer dorsal fine while the female has a shorter one.

Just making sure you are not talking about Mandarin's right?

[Skorpinok]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11420920#post11420920 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by raddogz
Just making sure you are not talking about Mandarin's right?

Yes - are you sure that they're firefish and not mandarin's? I don't think firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) can be distinguished between male and female.

[rhythmicfire]

I don't recall firefish being dimorphic
just my .02

[happyface888]

Yes Firefish no mandarin, although thats how one would sex a mandarin too. Here are some pics of firefish pairs in the wild. I have read that females tend to be thinner than males too.
http://www.starfish.ch/photos/fishes-Fische/gobies-Grundeln/Nemateleotris-magnifica.jpg

http://cs.brown.edu/~twd/fish/PNG/doeppne-106.jpg

[Matt_Wandell]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11422490#post11422490 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by happyface888
Yes Firefish no mandarin, although thats how one would sex a mandarin too. Here are some pics of firefish pairs in the wild. I have read that females tend to be thinner than males too.
http://www.starfish.ch/photos/fishes-Fische/gobies-Grundeln/Nemateleotris-magnifica.jpg

http://cs.brown.edu/~twd/fish/PNG/doeppne-106.jpg

Those fish look identical to me. Which one is which?

[rhythmicfire]

In the first picture the difference between the two can be seen (to me anyways) in the size of the longer dorsal spine in the left firefish. The only thing that comes to mind for me, is that maybe not ALL pairs look like those pictured above. I'm sure that dorsal spine length varies from specimen to specimen, especially in the wild. For me, the second picture displays no significant difference between the two firefish.

Then again if you're able to catch the firefish in the act of laying eggs, then you know it is a female. :)

[cro55f1r3]

those look just like mine haha thanks everyone for the help hopefully i have a female and a male

[rhythmicfire]

If not, trial and error ;)

[delsol650]

Mine was doing well for almost a year.. now for some reason the other is chasing the heck out of the other fish.. all over the tank... they were inseperatable before too... weird.

[rhythmicfire]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11425905#post11425905 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by delsol650
Mine was doing well for almost a year.. now for some reason the other is chasing the heck out of the other fish.. all over the tank... they were inseperatable before too... weird.

I hear as juveniles they are A O.K to have together in a closed system, however when they mature they begin to pair off and such

[delsol650]

They actually paired off while in the LFS with a bunch of other firefishes... which is why I got them both. I watched them for a long time and saw that they would always stay togther and stray away from the rest of the pack.