Catch a tiger by the toe, If he hollers let him go, Eenie Meenie Minie Moe. Now to choose a female. Eenie Meenie Minie Moe... While this method is somewhat less than scientific, it is the most commonly used procedure in acquiring a group of catfish in which some are male and some are female. While most fishes available in stores are in the juvenile or "teenage" stage, catfish are almost always adult specimens. This is to our advantage because once mature or nearly mature, catfish show varying degrees of sexual dimorphism and the sexes can be distinguished quite easily in many cases. So let’s see what’s out there. The most commonly kept catfishes are of the genus Corydoras and there are a great many varieties available. Since these are also the most commonly spawned catfishes, let’s start here. In much of the available literature, the authors may go as far as to say that females are larger than males or males are slimmer than females and my all-time favorite, females are fuller and stouter at spawning time. Corys are not available in stores in spawning condition so this bit of information is not particularly useful. If you have already purchased six or eight fish and conditioned them, the difference between sexes will become more noticeable but with the high cost of some corys, it would be more desirable to purchase the specific spawning group. Some corys have such great sexual dimorphism as to make one suspect the male and female are of different ...

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