Social Heirarchy Gold Honeys
Posted about this a month ago, did not get any bites and it's still on my mind.
I have a group of 5 gold honey gouramis (1M/4F) in a mature 40g breeder and two of my females have developed what I can only describe as male coloration, white/yellow dorsal stripe, darkened anal fin, beard. The are female sized - larger and rounder - and maintain the stripe on their sides. No nest building, no fry raising.
There's a clear social hierarchy among the females with the two male appearing at the top. One of the lower females appears textbook female and the other does in all ways except she has never had the stripe. That said, everyone is really peaceful. The proven male gets a little territorial if he's fry raising.
I've had these fish a long time and when I first got them the 4 females appeared very traditionally female. They are all over a year old with the changes occurring in the last 4 months or so.
Part of me wonders if they are in fact male but if they were truly 3 males 2 females you would expect a lot more bickering, right? Anyone have experience with this?