Aequidens sp. Jenaro herrera sexing

[Plec123]

I got this fish a little over a year ago, since then it's grown from about 2" to 6" TL. I initially thought this was a male because it's been fairly territorial in the past, but after seeing some pics online I'm thinking this might be a femals. The forehead just doesn't look prominent enough for this to be a male, unless that's something that only develops once the fish is adult size? What do you guys think?

 

[mr72country]

I would guess male because of the long fins. With that being said I've never seen this type of fish so i have no idea. That's an amazing looking fish either way, great job.

 

[ryansmith83]

The long fins thing is a myth for most SA cichlids. Females have them, too. In my Jenaro Herrera the only indicator was eventual adult size. The males were almost double the size of the females, with males getting to around 8" and females being maybe 4 - 5". They are not mature for about 2 years so this fish may still have a year of growth left.

In my group I had what I was sure was a dominant male but then one day she dropped her breeding tube, turned dark, and started digging pits. She and a male paired but I think the tank was too busy for them to ever spawn. But eventually the males did outgrow her, despite an early showing as a frontrunner in the group and a fairly dominant fish. It seems that like most acaras, the females can and will go into spawning mode fairly young.

 

[neutrino]

I haven't personally kept jenaro herrera, but I've seen quite a few, including spawning pairs. I agree, in the context of groups or pairs you can normally distinguish them by size, but not by fins-- fins are often similarly showy from what I've seen of them. Similar to other Aequidens, the males I've seen tend to be chunkier overall, including a chunky head, but otherwise I haven't noticed a definable head shape difference. From what I've seen the slope or having a notch or bump varies by individual fish as much as anything.

I have two pair of Rio Atabapo A. metae, fins on both are just as pointed; however, the males definitely have longer fins, but only by comparison. It's subtle enough that a photo of a single female could just as easily be a not quite mature male.

In my experience, some SA cichlids have fin differences, some don't. For example, there have been clear gender fin differences in some of the geos I've had. I've also been able to accurately peg male/female fin differences when growing out A. rivulatus and ime this persists into adulthood. Again, this is easier by comparison and by fins alone you might think a photo of a female is a young male.

 

[Plec123]

In my group I had what I was sure was a dominant male but then one day she dropped her breeding tube, turned dark, and started digging pits. She and a male paired but I think the tank was too busy for them to ever spawn. But eventually the males did outgrow her, despite an early showing as a frontrunner in the group and a fairly dominant fish. It seems that like most acaras, the females can and will go into spawning mode fairly young.

I haven't personally kept jenaro herrera, but I've seen quite a few, including spawning pairs. I agree, in the context of groups or pairs you can normally distinguish them by size, but not by fins-- fins are often similarly showy from what I've seen of them. Similar to other Aequidens, the males I've seen tend to be chunkier overall, including a chunky head, but otherwise I haven't noticed a definable head shape difference. From what I've seen the slope or having a notch or bump varies by individual fish as much as anything.

I have two pair of Rio Atabapo A. metae, fins on both are just as pointed; however, the males definitely have longer fins, but only by comparison. It's subtle enough that a photo of a single female could just as easily be a not quite mature male.

This thing about the fins has definitely become clear to me, in all the pics I've found online the females also have nice pointed fins...
However, this fish does on occasion turn almost black and dig pits in the corners of the tank. Usually for a day or so here and there.
I also just got this pic, I'm not sure if this is the female breeding tube that one of you guys described.