Cichlid Confusion

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C

citizen

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 16, 2006
12
0
0
Kansas
I have a 55 with 2, 2" Convicts and a 4" Flowerhorn. I am trying to determine the sexes and understand the recent behavior in the tank. Convict 1 i am fairly certian is female because of head shape, and orange/yellow tint to stomach area. Convict 2 i thought was male due to head shape and general lack of stomach color but i have noticed that in certian angles of light there is some yellow tint to the stomach. These two have been digging/moving gravel on one side of the tank quite heavily. The flowerhorn basicalyl owns a fake log decoration and has dug out all gravel under and around it. The two convicts definetly spend most of their time together on the left side of tank, while the flowerhorn hangs out alone on the right, however they all chase eachother (nothing violent) around the tank fairly regularly. Recently the flowerhorn has also developed a dark bar pattern in only the last couple days. Basically i am trying to sex these three fish, and get an idea of what sort of behavior is going on in the tank. Any info or ideas is welcome or suggestions on information that might help aid in giving help. Now for the pics:


Flowerhorn before bars:
post-13764-1163134960_thumb.jpg

After Barring:
post-13764-1163135056_thumb.jpg


Convict 1, I'm fairly certian is female has a straight slanted head, yellow/orange stomach coloring:
post-13764-1163134798_thumb.jpg

post-13764-1163134856_thumb.jpg


Convict 2, I thought was male, has a noticable lump on head and only the slightest yellow tint to stomach in certian angles of light:
post-13764-1163135154_thumb.jpg

post-13764-1163135194_thumb.jpg

post-13764-1163135237_thumb.jpg

post-13764-1163135280_thumb.jpg

post-13764-1163135321_thumb.jpg
 
There are several ways to tell the sex of a FH.

(1) The hump - USUALLY male fish have bigger humps on their heads.

(2) In the earlier breeds of FH, about 70% of fishes with black spots on the dorsal fin are females. However, with increasing cross-breeding, this method is not that accurate anymore. Also, do note that the double flowers of some LHs sometimes extend to the dorsal fin, again making this method unreliable.

(3) In a batch of fries, the ones that grow the biggest and fastest are usually males.

(4) The most reliable method is to look at the genetalia of the LH - the tube protruding from the underside of the fish (no that's not their ###### hole! It's their sex organ! ) Males have more narrow tubes with a V-shape opening. Females have thicker tubes with U-shape openings. It is only possible to see this when the fish is at least 2 inches. For smaller fishes, you may have to catch the fish, bring it out of the water, and examine it with a magnifying glass!

(5) The last method of telling the sex is to wait and see if the fish lays eggs! When the female fish is about to lay eggs, its body color will darken considerably, it will lose its appetite for a few days, and its tube will be engorged and protrude out of the body prominently. If I dont remember wrongly, females start laying eggs as young as 5 months old, while JH varieties only lay eggs when they are over a year old.

Hope that helps...

The cons on the other hand are easy females have a lot of orange on the bellies the males usually have none but I have seen males with a slight bit of orange but not too often. from the pics it looks like male and female but not 100%.
 
The Convict with the yellow tint may be a Honduras Red point Convict(not sure if that is correct name)have seen a lot of these in my local LFS.They are Convicts with more color.
 
Thanks for all the input, and for a bit of an update now. Im fairly positive the convicts are male/female. The tank has turned into a warzone. The convicts are vicously defending a good 3/4 of the tank, but due to the FH size/agressiveness its quite a constant struggle. Anyhow its alot of fun to watch and observe the transformation. Ill keep you guys updated with the cichlid tank. Being my first cichlid tank outside of keeping oscars, its quite an experience for me. I realize why people love these fish so much, their personality rivals the oscars which i would consider the most interactive fish around.

PS
Kstate > Texas...Go Cats!:headbang2
 
I would say the FH is a male due to the longer pointing fins slight hump on the head and awsome colors. Your convicts may be toast one day especially if it turns out to be a male FH. Nice flowerhorn , if you you dont me asking how much did you buy him or her up for? I have to give it up to Kstate they came ready to roast the Longhorns. As a Texans fan all I can hope for is a D Cowboys loss. There fans are so cockey and always have an excuse why they loose. At least as a Texans fan I can admit we suck. Cons look male and female. Good luck that FH is sweet at that size
 
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