FREE NYC may need to rehome my managuense
- Thread starter ctateo
- Start date
Pretty pronounced black markings, and at 6 years old and only 10", It's probably a female imo.
I'm no expert and thought male because someone had mentioned spots on the gill plates signified male.... Small size may be due to poor maintenence schedule for a period while it was still growing(I admit I let the tank go for almost a year at one point). Does the female clrar out a space in the substrate? I'm not familiar, I assumed only males did that. If you think it's female, I'd like to learn which marking you are referencing so I can better spot it in the future. Thanks in advance for any knowledge you can drop on me.
Managuense all start out with some black lines/markings going along body and face. In large males these tend to disappear and give way to more of the pattern/gold worming all over, while females it tends to stay more pronounced. Males at 6 years I would expect to be over 12" long, though as you say, going a year without water changes could certainly have stunted the fish's growth. Males and females may clear out a spot in breeding behavior, female is more likely to do it without a male present IME. The females can also lay eggs without a male, they will just be infertile.
That line you mention completely disappears leaving just the spots, and the most brilliant gold I've seen the fish show lately... Just haven't gotten a good pick of it.
