Jaguar cichlid male or female?

[TooQ]

I have tried to distinguish differences between males and females by checking breeding pairs on youtube and after reading various gender identifying requests I am amazed at how so many people are confident in knowing whether they are males or females at a young age of say 5 inches. I can only tell when they are big enough to get the spots if they are male. Ive read males have more stripes. Ive also heard on you tube that females have stripes that branch out (Vertically from top to bottom) Can one of you gifted people tell me if mine is male or female? I often wonder if its a jag or whether its a yellow jacket at times. Any contributions of opinions with reasons would be appreciated. Thanks. Its 5 inches from lip to edge of its fin. I feel its still to early too tell.

 

[duanes]

Looks female to me.
The head is more streamlined, a males head profile would be steeper and bulkier.
There are no small spots on the lower jaw, a female trait..
And the bands are darker and fuller, all female traits.
Of course if not mature, and there is a more dominant male in the tank, it could be a subdominant male, masquerading as a female.

 

[TooQ]

Looks female to me.
The head is more streamlined, a males head profile would be steeper and bulkier.
There are no small spots on the lower jaw, a female trait..
And the bands are darker and fuller, all female traits.
Of course if not mature, and there is a more dominant male in the tank, it could be a subdominant male, masquerading as a female.

Thanks... at what size do the spots on the lower jaw start to appear? I have 2 smaller ones about 3 inches in size in the tank.

 

[duanes]

Sometimes the males spot early.
Take the motaguense below (very similar traits to managuense)
At about 5" or 6" the spots are plain to see.

When older very obviously different than the female in the foreground.

male

female

also notice how the female body colors, and stream lined shape differ.

 

[waddybrooks]

Looks female to me.
The head is more streamlined, a males head profile would be steeper and bulkier.
There are no small spots on the lower jaw, a female trait..
And the bands are darker and fuller, all female traits.
Of course if not mature, and there is a more dominant male in the tank, it could be a subdominant male, masquerading as a female.

 

[newworld]

Female

 

[waddybrooks]

There are no small spots on the lower jaw, a female trait. There is alot of smaller spots on his lower jaw though?