The blue spangles on there jaw and gill plate is the dead give away. Males have very few spots on the lower jaw and gill plate and don't have any spangles. If you go look at a tank of them in a store it will be obvious which are which. You can usually tell at a pretty small size.
Jack Dempsey, Males or Females?
- Thread starter Natural_Born_Killer
- Start date
yeah, I do love Micky... he, well she I guess is a very pretty fish.
When the lights hit her right, or she happens to be in the right mood her body goes really dark and she gets very shimmery.
Mallory on the other hand I think is the more aggressive of the two.
I've noticed a lot of fish go missing in the tank over the last month. Even a stony looking cichlid - gone in two/three days!
When the lights hit her right, or she happens to be in the right mood her body goes really dark and she gets very shimmery.
Mallory on the other hand I think is the more aggressive of the two.
I've noticed a lot of fish go missing in the tank over the last month. Even a stony looking cichlid - gone in two/three days!
fishnoob;2488066; said:
Could be true. Males grow faster than females in most cases. When very young the larger fish can actually prey on the smaller ones. That's why you often see more males than females.
Keep in mind, not all females are as easy to pick out as in the OP's second picture.
I agree the OP has two females.
Well this weekend will be a hunt for a male.
Found a few at a pet shop last night but they were so small compared to the girls I have. Plus I've got a male Malawi in there right now who is loving being the boss. So, think I'll need a JD thats big enough to take charge
Found a few at a pet shop last night but they were so small compared to the girls I have. Plus I've got a male Malawi in there right now who is loving being the boss. So, think I'll need a JD thats big enough to take charge
Adding a male might cause one of the females to pair up with him, and they would both pick on the other female. Do you have somewhere else to put the female? Sometimes they are really mean. But on the plus side their coloration will become very intense. Check out my male JD who is courting a female currently.
Well, I am currently looking to upgrade my tank as once the JD's grow mine will be too small (fine for their current size). So I suppose I could put the other female in the "spare" tank till I find her a better home.
Though I have to say breaks my heart to think of splitting them up... I've gotten very attached to my JD's. Won't allow any other fish in the tank that MIGHT hurt them.
Though I have to say breaks my heart to think of splitting them up... I've gotten very attached to my JD's. Won't allow any other fish in the tank that MIGHT hurt them.
I think you would run into the same problem. In my tank, once the male and female were at breeding age, they paired up and picked on everything else in the aquarium. I tried moving the females into another aquarium, but the males continued fighting anyway. You may have better luck, but in my aquariums I can only keep one male in each aquarium, and a female also if they are not mated.
Also I should mention that mine are a bit larger than yours, and also I do some aquarium juggling. So if you grow them up together from a small size, it may work out.
Also I should mention that mine are a bit larger than yours, and also I do some aquarium juggling. So if you grow them up together from a small size, it may work out.
