Male vs Female Cories
 

Does anyone know a good method for determining the sex of a cory? I have a pair of peppered which I can't tell if one is rounder than the other, but one appears markably lighter pepper coloration. Also, would this apply to other types of cories?

i think the only way to tell is that males are a bit slimmer and females slightly rounder and bigger im afraid. i dont think there is any other way thoguh if you find out please let us all know. and this method as far as i know applied to all cories, yes.

I have always found it very difficult to determine between the two sexes, and here are the differences that I know of.

- males may have slighly longer and thicker dorsal spines
- some males have brighter and more defined markings
- females, when viewed from above will appear deeper, and from the front - more rounded

Saying that, I have had one of my groups of corys for over a year and can't tell the difference between them. I know that I have a mixed group as they have spawned in the past.

Shoot. Those were the only things I could come up with and with fish barely over an inch long, it makes it really hard to determine. Thanks.

do the people who work at the lfs usually know which are males and females?

i'd like to be able to trust them when i say i want one female and one male cory cats

That all depends on the LFS you go to. Some staff are knowledgeable and some aren't - it depends on your luck.

If you're buying the corys as juvenilles I think they would be very difficult to sex. I've always bought mine in a group before, that way there's more likelihood of getting a mix.

I asked about a couple of other fish and they didn't know. Most of the stuff I'm getting is pretty young and like kateyoup said, I'm getting in groups to try and get a mix. Just for the cories, I'm buying in pairs for more of a variety of types.