here are some updated pictures. i have taken them out of the grow out tank and given them their own tank to better get a sense of their behavior. it seems a lot more complex than normal CA cichlids.
you can also clearly see the difference in gender now.
the male is the 'plainer' looking guy that is brownish with speckling. the dominant females (i have three females in total i think) are half black and half white. the dominant ones wear that dress all the time and spend their time trying to win the fancy of that single bugger
it's funny because the male looks like he has chosen one of them and spends time swimming around with her and chasing other fish away together. he also does a lot of shimmying near the gravel. but once the other female comes closer he seems to lose focus and just goes after her. so it's funny watching this love tug of war
the least dominant female looks really plain and has the same sort of colors as the male now. but you can tell the gender because she is a lot more stout in build with a round tummy and you can sort of make out the breeding tube popping out.
these guys look like they are probably somewhat communal in nature? i don't know too much about their social behavior, but it almost seems like they are found in loose colonies like mbunas? that's just my observation based on four fish...
here are pictures as promised.
female
female
female flaring
male
