Thanks, do you know any sites that sell breeding pairs? I prefer not to do the by 10 and hope for a pair thing. I bought 11 callochromis a few months ago and they all turned out to be male
Most places do not sell sexed pairs per se, but you're usually able to just ask for a male and a female, and contrary to what most people will say, you'll usually have luck getting a spawn out of them if you do have a male and a female. I very rarely buy my broodstock in groups. Luckily for you though, most American cichlids are easy to sex. However,
- I am not sure where to get hypsophrys now that cota is closed, most lfs should have them though, females have light blue heads and iridescent coloration while males are usually a matte yellow, sometimes with a dark blue head
-archocentrus are the exception, but Dave's rare fish carries them
- I am not sure how rocio spinosissima are sexed but I believe Dave's rare fish has those too. Normal jack dempsies are pretty easy to come across.
- thorichthys are near impossible to sex, however some in the helleri species group will have dorsal spots on the females. thorichthys in general do better in groups however, so it's less you buying 10 in hopes of keeping 2, more buying 5 because you need 5, and 2 eventually pairing off. they're not too aggressive during spawning either for the most part. if you're fine with buying groups because you need to, the genus cribroheros is also on the table.
- australoheros and cichlasoma sp can be bought from
fishfarmusa@comcast.net. his stock list is available on facebook (southeast exotics and tropicals). make sure to specify that you want a pair as he often sends extras.
- andinoacara can usually be bought from tuic
By convicts, do you mean actual convicts, or just the entire amatitlania genus? Sajica makes a good pair species and hits your size preference. Myrnae does as well but either needs to be kept at room temp to ensure that the pair bond stays (they will divorce pretty quickly if spawns fail, which they will at warmer temps as eggs do not hatch at higher than 77F ime) or needs groups for potential (non mortality related) mate replacements. I don't recommend any of the cryptoheros species as a pair fish. They do better in BIG groups as well.
7" male myrnae in my dad's tank:
Sajica can also be bought from Dave's. Sometimes Aquabid (first coast tropical fish/90215). Myrnae the same. The male in the picture is actually from the latter. The one behind him is his daughter.
