# How do you sex goldfish??



## Saphira101 (Nov 14, 2012)

Hello guys,
I was wondering if anyone here knows how to sex goldfish? I have a comet and I wanted to know it's gender.

thank you, ~Saphira


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## Kithy (Nov 21, 2012)

Sexing goldfish is the biggest pain in the butt >_<

It's best that they are at least two or three years old and a bit larger. I also have a comet and he was at least two when I got him. When I brought him inside I noticed he had little white things on his gill covers. These are apparently breeding stars and a sign of being male. Great, but my other two goldfish? No freaking idea >_<

http://www.aquahobby.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=10682

This might help a bit. Truthfully... I can not tell what my oranda and my fantail are. It's frustrating.


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## RoMay (Nov 28, 2012)

To bad it wasn't as simple as having the fish raise it's scales and looking for a hole or two bumps. I read though that gold fish also have a thing near it's tail (don't know what it is called) that either hangs out or tucks in. If it hangs otu it's a girl or if you tucks in it's a girl. I tried to see what gender Decade is, personally I think you have to wait till fry appear and figure out who's the baby's dad is.


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## Kithy (Nov 21, 2012)

RoMay said:


> To bad it wasn't as simple as having the fish raise it's scales and looking for a hole or two bumps. I read though that gold fish also have a thing near it's tail (don't know what it is called) that either hangs out or tucks in. If it hangs otu it's a girl or if you tucks in it's a girl. I tried to see what gender Decade is, personally I think you have to wait till fry appear and figure out who's the baby's dad is.


Yup, they're vents. It's very very hard to sex goldfish and the only sure-fire way is to have fry. But since I don't want any fry I don't care what my goldfish are  I just know the comet is male and the other two look female.


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## Shewbert (Dec 16, 2012)

The difference between the sexes can only be seen once the fish are sexually mature. The female are usually rounder and plumper. She will also have a fuller body contour. Male is slightly slimmer and the spawning rash became visible - white spots on the gill cover and sometimes on the pectoral fins.

I've known people treating goldfish for mild white spot when they only have a spawning rash.
Fairly difficult fish to sex
Ray


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## Ouch (Dec 28, 2012)

Goldfish are simpler to sex than you think. 

I recently bought another male fish. I already had a male and a female. But I wanted another male specifically.

Basically you have to look at the vent on the goldfish. Look at it carefully. If the vent is raised, sort of volcano like, then the fish is female. If the vent is flat it's male.

You should see the weird looks you get in the pet shop when you're standing there for ages looking at the fishes back sides lol.


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## Kithy (Nov 21, 2012)

Mine have perpetual ADHD and I can never get them to sit still long enough to inspect them xD Although I don't really want eggs right now. I'm no where near experienced enough to want to deal with baby fish :3


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## Ouch (Dec 28, 2012)

How old are they and what types do you have?

I have two Ryukins and a Pom Pom Oranda.

The best time to look is after feeding them. Scatter peas around the tank, when they are pecking around you have the perfect opportunity lol.


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## Kithy (Nov 21, 2012)

Ouch said:


> How old are they and what types do you have?
> 
> I have two Ryukins and a Pom Pom Oranda.
> 
> The best time to look is after feeding them. Scatter peas around the tank, when they are pecking around you have the perfect opportunity lol.


The comet is at least three now and has had breeding stars on his gills so I'm pretty sure he is male. The oranda and the fantail are pretty young, I believe, so I'm thinking they might be too young to breed yet as the comet hasn't shown any interest in them as far as that goes.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I remember with the horde that I used to have, definite sexing was really only possible once they hit 3", you could take a stabbing guess before then, but as soon as the males get those spots (also called tubercules), it's so much simpler!


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## Ouch (Dec 28, 2012)

I was able to see my female was a female when she was just an inch long. The trick is to watch for a long time.


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## Kithy (Nov 21, 2012)

I'm just assuming male as Id on't see any distinctive features :B


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Honestly goldfish aren't that hard to sex once you know what you are looking for. The breeding stars or turbecules are easiest to find for me. You can see them on fish as small as a few inches. This site has great pictures of the vents, pectoral fins, and breeding stars of male and female goldfish.


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## Kithy (Nov 21, 2012)

After seeing that link I went to look at my goldies and my calico has clear ball things coming out of its er, vent. o_o I assume eggs? Gah, I thought I'd be cool with them eating the eggs but we'll seeee.

The oranda looks female also but I can't tell on the comet :< No stars anymore so I guess that's good?

They all seem more interested in digging through gravel than fry-making.


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