One interesting note on colored portion of the ear tabs, that area is very thin and is easily subject to getting damaged. When I occasionally see the RES in my aquarium being aggressive with each other they do nip at the cheeks and ear tab but I don't see this behavior very often. I wonder if the presence of another sunfish such as BG might result in more damage from nipping at the ear tab, at this time I do not have any other type of sunfish in my pond. The fish pictured above appears to have some damage to the colored portion on one side making it look thin and lighter orange like one would expect with a female RES. Is it a female? or a male who has been repeatedly picked on by a more dominant male?
