Crenicichla lenticulata breeding

Me and my brother bought 3 crenicichla lenticulata from a group which were 6 or 7 individuals from the start. 2 of those 3 began to bully the third one, so much that it died. They always swim together, and is never aggressive against each other. One of them have always been a little bit bigger. When we bought them they were around 20cm i think, now the 2 i have is maybe 25cm or more. Does this sound like a pair? Because i cannot see any different in them, not much anyways. One has a little more black pattern, the bigger one, but no other difference between them as i can see... If this is a pair, how should i do to make them breed? All tips are appreciated, links, pictures, own experiences and so on about everything! I've tried to find articles and pictures about how to breed lenticulata, and i have not found that much since it seems like it's not a common fish to breed?

Can post some pictures of them soon...

I read somewhere that the difference between male / female in C. leniticulata is the coloring/black pattern.. What do you guys think? Looks like a male and a female? If so, Im very thankful for all the tips or help with breeding these...

Thanks guys!

TheSinisterSOB said:

First, very nice lents!

The most common determinate for sex between lenticulata is a white line that runs the length of the dorsal. They can be vented, but this brings in the risk of handling your pike and causing stress.

Females have the white line, where as males do not. Males are also larger than females.

Your pair looks to be very difficult to sex with those pictures.

How big are they? Sex can be determined at a pretty young, but sexual maturity doesn't happen until they are atleast 10+" or 25+ cm.

I have never heard of a lenticulata pair spawning in captivity, however, low PH and high protein diets along with frequent water changes would help trigger the activity.

Good luck

One more thing, if they go into spawning behavior....every tank mate in there with them is in serious danger.

Click to expand...

Alright, thanks for answering! I would say they are soon to be 20cm in length. Of course im not going to try breeding them in this tank. I have a 580 liter tank that i'm thinking about making perfekt for them to breed in and only keep these 2. So if any of them does not have the white line, they're both males? I'll try take a good look, and maybe some new photos. I thought the big difference in color would be enough to maybe determine the sex, but it's basically only by the white line you can be really sure?

I can see a slight difference at the end of the dorsal fin. One has a brighter, more clear white line along it... I'll upload pictures later today, maybe you guys can decide.