If you would like a cichlid gender ID, there are some obvious traits to display in your photos for many American cichlids.
Venting can be difficult for some people to see, and often hard to photograph clearly without causing the fish undo stress, so the outward appearance can the next best thing.
In many cichlids the lower jaw makes gender ID obvious, so it is very important to display a clear view of the lower jaw
For JDs, females have plenty of blue color on the lower jaw, males don’t (females often have what is commonly called a blue beard).
In many Parachromis species, the males display lots of small spots on the lower jaw, females, not so many, to the point of having none at all, as is the case with this Parachromis motaguense male
and female below
The dorsal fin
many males display spots on the dorsal, so it is important to show an erect dorsal in your photo, if it is clamped down too much, gender ID may be nearly impossible.
Below Hypsophrys nicaraguense, male
The female dorsal may display solid colored, or dark areas areas, but few spots,
female nic below
same goes for Nandopsis tetracanthus, a female below note the solid black area
Nandopsis tetracanthus male, note the dark areas are mottled
also note the same profile differences suggested in the paragraph below
Head Profile, most male cichlids have a steeper profile than females, so a side view emphasizing the shape of your cichlids profile can be very important.
Below a male Herichthys carpintus, note the steep profile
below a female, note the more torpedo shape profile
a similar profile display in Amatitlanis
Cutteri male
below female
and in Mesoheros festae
male
below 2 females
Venting can be difficult for some people to see, and often hard to photograph clearly without causing the fish undo stress, so the outward appearance can the next best thing.
In many cichlids the lower jaw makes gender ID obvious, so it is very important to display a clear view of the lower jaw
For JDs, females have plenty of blue color on the lower jaw, males don’t (females often have what is commonly called a blue beard).
In many Parachromis species, the males display lots of small spots on the lower jaw, females, not so many, to the point of having none at all, as is the case with this Parachromis motaguense male
and female below
The dorsal fin
many males display spots on the dorsal, so it is important to show an erect dorsal in your photo, if it is clamped down too much, gender ID may be nearly impossible.
Below Hypsophrys nicaraguense, male
The female dorsal may display solid colored, or dark areas areas, but few spots,
female nic below
same goes for Nandopsis tetracanthus, a female below note the solid black area
Nandopsis tetracanthus male, note the dark areas are mottled
also note the same profile differences suggested in the paragraph below
Head Profile, most male cichlids have a steeper profile than females, so a side view emphasizing the shape of your cichlids profile can be very important.
Below a male Herichthys carpintus, note the steep profile
below a female, note the more torpedo shape profile
a similar profile display in Amatitlanis
Cutteri male
below female
and in Mesoheros festae
male
below 2 females
