I got some large ( were pregnant at the time and ate their young when giving birth) females from Fishyz and then some small ones from Fishlvr. It ended up that I have now 6 females (3 mature/3 immature(?)) and 1 male which I presume to be immature. He is about 1/2", but his "male fin"(forgot what it is called exactly and the spelling of it) is nearly as long as he is. Is he mature? if not, at what size are they mature?

Thanks,
Nate

I have had young males reach sexual maturity at less than a quarter of an inch in length. It seems they mature faster when raised alone or with sibling males of similar size. That is what I do(seperate the sexes) as soon as i begin seeing melanistic spots on fry(only males can have spots) in my rearing tank. Under these circumstances and with a good diet, males mature in as little as three weeks. I once put two brothers back into the main breeding tank at four weeks old because they had reached maturity and while trying to court my largest female both actually got eaten instead! at 1/2 an inch, there is no doubt that your male is mature. As long as a fully developed gonopodium(hope I spelled that right) is present your male is mature. Also, if you want any fry to servive at all you are gonna have to put your females into a birthing trap when they look like they are ready to pop.

I have had young males reach sexual maturity at less than a quarter of an inch in length. It seems they mature faster when raised alone or with sibling males of similar size. That is what I do(seperate the sexes) as soon as i begin seeing melanistic spots on fry(only males can have spots) in my rearing tank. Under these circumstances and with a good diet, males mature in as little as three weeks. I once put two brothers back into the main breeding tank at four weeks old because they had reached maturity and while trying to court my largest female both actually got eaten instead! at 1/2 an inch, there is no doubt that your male is mature. As long as a fully developed gonopodium(hope I spelled that right) is present your male is mature. Also, if you want any fry to servive at all you are gonna have to put your females into a birthing trap when they look like they are ready to pop.

Less than 1/4"? The females around here must have large young, because the runts of a clutch from my females are that size. I've had them reach maturity in 2-4 weeks after birth, though, and the females show a gravid spot before they're a full inch long.