The first is Melanotaenia trifasciata. Only clear markings so far are what
appears to be two parallel red/orange stripes just above and below the barely
detectable lateral line. At the LFS, one had visible markings, while the
other looked to have no visible markings, but now that I've got them home,
the plain one appears to have the horizontal lines too. Any suggestions
on what to look for to get a positive ID on a female? I trust that they are
M. trifasciata, but would like to be sure I get a pair...
Second is Melanotaenia parkinsoni. The male is pretty obvious, with the
expected parkinsoni markings (orange form). For the females, I went by
the shape of the anal fin, which seems to be longer and pointed on the male,
and more rounded on the female.
Am I correct on the pointed vs rounded anal fin on the parkinsoni? The anal
fin on both of the M. trifasciata appears to taper off at the tail,
rather than ending in a visible point like the parkinsoni.
-- Chuck Gadd