Help sexing RTM

[anzo1993]

Hello, about 2 weeks ago I purchased a 3/4 inch RTM at the local pet shop, in the past I've had juvenile red tigers and noticed the females start coloring up in the cheeks quite quickly, anyways mine is about 1.25 inches now and has been growing quite fast,, so far I've noticed almost no red in the cheeks or body , I'm leaning more towards male but wondering if anyone can confirm

 

[duanes]

At that size, its pretty much a Krapp shoot trying to tell gender, because gender distinctions have not developed yet.
Here is a young male motguense

The small spots on the gill plate usually show up, before the profile of the head.
A more mature male shows a steeper profile(below)

Females on the other hand, usually have naked (no or a few large spots) on the gill plate.

also note how much more streamlined, or torpedo shaped they are.

Together these differences are much more apparent.

These same traits are indicators in almost all Parachromis
You need to be a little patient.
One of the best ways to tell, is to get a half dozen motaguese and let them choose partners, then differences become obvious.
This usually helps ending up with copasetic bonded pairs, as opposed to two thrown together, where one kills the other.

 

[Vampire fish]

I have tons of RTM that one is too small too tell or give it dark colored background so we can see the patterns better. Its realy easy to tell male has all speckling female has none.

 

[anzo1993]

Thanks for the responses, I guess I'll just have to wait until he or she grows abit bigger

 

[Vampire fish]

Thanks for the responses, I guess I'll just have to wait until he or she grows abit bigger

If i was gunna guess from that picture I would say male. It has the speckles on the fins. And the cheek. If he had some dark environment its easier to distinguish.