sexing plecos

i was wondering if anyone can give me some tips on how to tell the gender on my plecos. i will put up pictures later. thanks in advance.

First, Find out the age of the fish. If a pleco is not yet fully developed, then it will be difficult to sex the pleco. Make sure that the pleco in question is a mature adult -- usually at least four to five years of age.

Next, Examine the pleco's forehead. Males have flat, level foreheads. Females tend to have rounded foreheads that bulge out slightly. When a female is ready to spawn, her forehead will appear plump.

Look at the fish from above. Just as the male's foreheads are more level and linear, so are their bodies. They do not appear "fat" or "plump" in any way. Females, on the other hand, have more curves and tend to be a bit larger than the males when they are full grown.

Lastly, Check for barbells. These are spines that grow at the sides of the mouth. Both sexes develop them in some species of plecos, but in others, only the males develop them. If you have a pleco with no barbells, then it is a female. Also, if the barbells appear stunted and smooth, then it is likely a female.


I referenced [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Get a top and side pic of them. Also a close up of the pectoral fin will help. A species would also help.

Thanks a lot for the information. I'm going to have to wait a couple years before i can start breeding, but thanks for the tips.

I'm guessing its sultan plecos your wanting info on. Here is a link [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

well i want a sultan but i cant find them anyway. im waiting for my green and blue phantoms, gold nugget and many other plecos.

You will find good info on all of them at that site. Most of those are sexed by looking at the thickness of the pectoral spine and by the amount and sleight of the odontodes on the sides of the head and on the spines.
Generally the thicker spined and more 'hairy' ones are the males, there are other subtle features but those are the easiest.
I can see if I can get a picture of my dom male and a female of my bristle nose plecos and point out the features you would be looking for.

What all kinds do you have? I have a soft spot for plecos and am working on getting a few more types to breed.

the ones i named above. galaxy, flash, butterfly, snowball, whiptail, and some busynoses one long fin albino. also a couple royals

what about yourself??

Just longfin albino bristle nose and zebras for now.

That's a nice assortment!

zebras wow good deal. those are awesome plecos no joke. i wish i could get my hands on some. where did you manage to get those?? also thanks

I love zebras. Wish they didn't cost so much.

Via a friend in Texas, he can get the zebras and several other high end plecos, most are wild caught.