My local store got a shipment of African Purple/Exquisite Firefish (Nemateleotris exquisita) in and I decided to give pairing these guys a shot. I was able to pick a male and a female based on their genital papilla and It seems to have worked as they paired up almost instantly:
After this worked out I tried the same a week later with the Yellow Head Helfrichi Firefish (Nemateleotris sp. aff. helfrichi) the store had as well and it worked out well again:
I may try the same with the "regular" Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) and the Purple Firefish (Nemateleotris decora) at some point but it seems that a male and a female will get along.
Sexing these guys is a bit tricky as you need to be able to see their genital papilla and they usually retract it when stressed out or starved. It also helps if the fish are in individual tanks or containers.
The next step will be to get them to spawn...
After this worked out I tried the same a week later with the Yellow Head Helfrichi Firefish (Nemateleotris sp. aff. helfrichi) the store had as well and it worked out well again:
I may try the same with the "regular" Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) and the Purple Firefish (Nemateleotris decora) at some point but it seems that a male and a female will get along.
Sexing these guys is a bit tricky as you need to be able to see their genital papilla and they usually retract it when stressed out or starved. It also helps if the fish are in individual tanks or containers.
The next step will be to get them to spawn...
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