Bluethroat trigger

[Jrco226]

I recently got a supposed male bluethroat trigger roughly 3". I'm having trouble determining if it actually a male. I know males are suppose to have a blue throat/jaw and yellow tips but I'm only seeing a faint hint of yellow. Im not sure if this is due to the size of the trigger...do they gain color as they mature?

 

[Jmblec2]

Doesn't look like a male to me

 

[Dilan Patel]

To me who actually has had a female blue throat. That looks like a female!

 

[Jrco226]

I've sent an email to the vendor hopefully they agree and make it right

 

[Cment]

Yep unfortunately that is a female...

 

[Jrco226]

I've sent an email to the vendor hopefully they agree and make it right

 

[DH-Reef]

Mine is 3.5-4 inches in length and the blue jaw/throat is pretty prominent.

 

[Jrco226]

I guess there is really nothing I can do other than get a credit for the difference unfortunately. Still a pretty fish but I guess it could be prettier.

 

[4FordFamily]

That's a female, from what I can see.

I have seen where males that become bullied or very stressed can lose the male coloration -- not sure personally as I've not experienced that but it's a "documented" phenomenon.

 

[Jrco226]

That's a female, from what I can see.

I have seen where males that become bullied or very stressed can lose the male coloration -- not sure personally as I've not experienced that but it's a "documented" phenomenon.

I received it on Friday. It's been in Qt with a foxface since then and eats like a champ so i don't know if that would be enough stress or not. They both still hide when I come in the room but it will come out to eat if I'm sitting there.

 

[Maritimer]

I have one that had a distinct blue throat and yellow-edged fins when I bought him - and now wears very feminine colors.

He's still got a "5-O'Clock shadow", though, which I don't see here.

~Bruce

 

[Jrco226]

I have one that had a distinct blue throat and yellow-edged fins when I bought him - and now wears very feminine colors.

He's still got a "5-O'Clock shadow", though, which I don't see here.

~Bruce

Seems to have no shadow to me as well. Solid gray coloration just the dull yellow on the tail fin. I just didn't know if it was due to maturity. Kind of a bummer : (

 

[idol]

I have a male and Female that are 3" and the female looks just like your photo. The female is the friendly one for me. Great fish.

 

[Maritimer]

Seems to have no shadow to me as well. Solid gray coloration just the dull yellow on the tail fin. I just didn't know if it was due to maturity. Kind of a bummer : (

The good news is that if you decide to pair her later on, males seem to be generally easier to find.

~Bruce

 

[Forsaken77]

That actually looks like a male to me, according to THIS PICTURE.

The female looks to have a different colored body and has some maroon on her tail. Yours looks like a male colored body from the linked picture. I could be wrong, but from Live Aquaria, the body colors look dramatically different.

 

[Jmblec2]

Male in my old tank

 

[lion king]

At that size they are very hard to sex, it's a regular occurrence at a few lfs around here getting it wrong. It's usually goes the other way though, males at that size not being fully mature and displaying their colors prominently and sold as females. At least over 4" to tell for sure, although most males will display before then, but not all.

If you were to consider a pair, I'd wait until the one you have is fully displaying the blue jaw; or wait until they are over 4" to call it female. If female the tail will turn red as well, and she won't have a yellow border on the dorsal fins. So now it appears female but could easily be male within another inch of growth.

 

[BradB]

I am not sure if these change sex or not, but either way it will be a better looking fish after it matures. But I'd try to get reimbursed the difference. Did you want a pair?

 

[Jrco226]

I purchased from what I would consider a reputable online vendor and they have assured me it's a male but will take some time to get more coloration. If it does turn out to be a female then I will look into getting a male to pair. Even if it's a female they seem pretty set it's a male so idk about getting refund or credit. I would just have to take my business else where.

 

[HB AL]

I bought a small male from my lfs around 7 months ago. The only yellow it had at the time was on the tail and that was barely visible and the throat had a small tint of blue. For the last 6 months or so I figured it was a male but just not very brightly colored yellow fins and still a hint of blue. About a month ago I started to notice the yellow on the tail growing in size along with the blue on the throat. Fast forward to now and the tail is bright yellow, the throat is really blue and the top and bottom fins are outlined in yellow ( never even had a hint of yellow on those). I haven't changed anything as far as water change interval, dosing etc..... it was very shy at the lfs and for the 1st 4 months or so but a couple months ago it decided life wasn't to bad in my reef and none of his buddies were gonna hurt him and he is always out and about and even eats from my hand, and doesn't even hide when I'm doing maintenance inside the tank. I wouldn't sweat it and just be patient.