Horrible time trying to ID male from female! Convicts

[Sab_Fan]

i would look for a fish that is dominant and one that is submissive. cichlids will often change sex to fit their roles.

that one surprised me too . . .

did see some references on-line to certain African cichlids - - mbuna species - - where dominant females may take on the gender roles of the male, for example when there are no males in the tank. they look and act like males, but they do not literally change sex . . . and this doesn't apply to convicts

the OP's problem is just that the convicts he is trying to sex may be too juvenile to sex properly at this point

 

[Finheaven]

Yea I can easily sex convicts but the ones in petsmart are not really showing the orange bellies yet here. No biggy come back in a week someone should have a orange belly then look for the largest without a orange belly and chances are its male.

 

[livebearerfreak]

when i bred my cons the youngest ( smallest ) size i could differaite the sex on my baby con was at 1/2 inch

 

[nmadsen4]

i would look for a fish that is dominant and one that is submissive. cichlids will often change sex to fit their roles.

you must be confusing cichlids with super groupers. lol

 

[Pickled_Herring]

duster1971 is correct. The best way to sex Cons is by the shape of the dorsal fin. Once you start breeding them you will be able to determine the sex of small fry.

 

[FishingOut]

If there arnt any visual signs of sex at that age then we cant pull any MFK magic and tell you which ones to get.

Obviously if you want a breeding pair get 2 or 3 that are the biggest. and 2 or 3 that are the smallest. Grow them up and theres bound to be both sexes in there. Wait of a pair and sell the rest. Simple as that.

Side note: Cichlids "changing" sex is complete rubbish.

 

[FishingOut]

Cichlids "changing" sex is complete rubbish.

I guess not complete rubbish, with all the gene abnormalities in convicts a hermaphrodite is very well possible.
Some east african herem fish also do this. If the male of the group is killed, the dominant female can sometimes change sexes.

 

[Red Devil]

i would look for a fish that is dominant and one that is submissive. cichlids will often change sex to fit their roles.

they don't change sex.. they change color..... so the dominate aggressive one will leave them alone.

 

[Oddball]

when i bred my cons the youngest ( smallest ) size i could differaite the sex on my baby con was at 1/2 inch

That's great and we're happy for you. So, when are you going to share this technique with the rest of the class? Curious minds wish to know.

 

[Adhlc]

i would look for a fish that is dominant and one that is submissive. cichlids will often change sex to fit their roles.

Thanks, I needed that.