Paratheraps bifasciatus sexing both fish?

[Plum7]

Hi,

I have 2 Paratheraps bifasciatus 1 smaller one and 1 bigger one and want to know what are their sex? and how do you tell? First set of 2 pictures is the smaller one and second set of pictures is the bigger fish. Also will the smaller one ever catch up in size to the bigger one? Any Advice would be much appreciated.

 

[duanes]

The smaller one with the more torpedo shaped profile "looks" to be female to me, and larger one looks male with the steep macho profile...but one caveat...
the smaller of the two may be displaying subordinate traits, because the larger is obviously the alpha.
Only time will tell. Most bifas don't fully mature until they are at least 2 years old, although they may spawn sooner.

 

[Plum7]

The smaller one with the more torpedo shaped profile "looks" to be female to me, and larger one looks male with the steep macho profile...but one caveat...
the smaller of the two may be displaying subordinate traits, because the larger is obviously the alpha.
Only time will tell. Most bifas don't fully mature until they are at least 2 years old, although they may spawn sooner.

Thank you for your response, The smaller one is only around i think 5 inches or so at the moment and i think it is still a bit small to be able to tell yet? I thought it was male at first as it has deep colours and it has a bit of a shine to its body too. I also read somewhere that males have blue eyes and females usually have yellow eyes? This small one has a yellow ring colour around its eye, unless it can change when it gets bigger?

Does the shape of the body and dorsal fins also help determine gender or not really? I looked at the small one and it seems to look more rounded than long and the dorsal fins are not particularly long and sharp like a male?

 

[duanes]

In many Central American cichlids, females have more basic color (darker hues,
Take Vieja breidhori
First a male, note the head shape

now a female

for me the most profound differences are the shape of the profile, and size(especially if they are the same age)
Now compare Nosferatu bartoni.
First a female

now a male

and of course Parachromis motaguense
female

male

 

[Rocksor]

Here's my confirmed female bifa

Young ~4-5" TL


A few months later ~6" TL, she spends much of the day looking for leftovers, and looks a bit chunky. You'll notice her head profile is not as slanted as before, probably due to overeating.


Looking to breed (male nicaraguan in tank), notice blackening of bottom portion of jawline and throat

 

[Plum7]

Here's my confirmed female bifa

Young ~4-5" TL
View attachment 1354243

A few months later ~6" TL, she spends much of the day looking for leftovers, and looks a bit chunky. You'll notice her head profile is not as slanted as before, probably due to overeating.
View attachment 1354244

Looking to breed (male nicaraguan in tank), notice blackening of bottom portion of jawline and throat

View attachment 1354245

Oh wow yeah she looks just like the small one i currently have pretty much almost the same shape at the same size. So its very likely i have a small female as at even this size the males should already have a steeper forehead then? I hope this one will grow soon as i would like it to catch up in size to the bigger one i got.

Also you have a very beautiful female bifa, looks like females lose some of their colouring during breeding time and thank you very much for the pictures of your female it helps alot.

 

[Plum7]

In many Central American cichlids, females have more basic color (darker hues,
Take Vieja breidhori
First a male, note the head shape

now a female

for me the most profound differences are the shape of the profile, and size(especially if they are the same age)
Now compare Nosferatu bartoni.
First a female

now a male

and of course Parachromis motaguense
female

male

thanks for the pictures of each sex for each species, it really helps yes i noticed all the females have the same slant like my current small one. The bigger one i can confirm is male because of his steep profile like you said and his brighter colours. The small one has a dark hue but also a shiny body which i found different as i don't usually see females with a shiny body. So i guess i have a male and a female then. The person who sold this small one to me said he was pretty sure it is a male but i was unsure of that when its still so young.

 

[Plum7]

The smaller one with the more torpedo shaped profile "looks" to be female to me, and larger one looks male with the steep macho profile...but one caveat...
the smaller of the two may be displaying subordinate traits, because the larger is obviously the alpha.
Only time will tell. Most bifas don't fully mature until they are at least 2 years old, although they may spawn sooner.

The smaller one with the more torpedo shaped profile "looks" to be female to me, and larger one looks male with the steep macho profile...but one caveat...
the smaller of the two may be displaying subordinate traits, because the larger is obviously the alpha.
Only time will tell. Most bifas don't fully mature until they are at least 2 years old, although they may spawn sooner.

Here are some pictures i managed to get of the small one while it was swimming up high of its vent and anus? can you tell by looking at these photos or is it still impossible to tell it's sex? please let me know if this helps determines it thanks.

 

[duanes]

Bit out of focus to see, what's really going on.
Here is a couple female papillae, and the kind of focus that is usable.

 

[Rocksor]

She prepped the space for laying eggs, causing but the female papillae to come out. You'll notice it looks blunt like a little eraser