male peacock cichlid..with eggs?

[petrisaurus]

I just bought an ob peacock a few days ago for my 55 gallon. He is a male and at less than 4 inches, is already developing a blue sheen and very obvious egg spots. However, I noticed he has not been eating and his mouth always looked full.Today I carefully peeked into his mouth and i saw a bunch of eggs! I know peacocks are mouthbrooders, but since only females take part in brooding the young, I am a little stumped. When I bought the peacock he was the dominant male in a tank of mostly similar sized females. Is it even possible for male peacock cichlids to partake in the mouthbrooding? I was very confident my cichlid was a male, but now I am not sure. Could it just possibly be a colorful female?

and what should I do now?

 

[bobblehead27]

if you post pics of the peacock the pro's on here can verify if it is a male...

 

[mike dunagan]

define colorful? OB females have blotches as well.

 

[petrisaurus]

define colorful? OB females have blotches as well.

Ive noticed he has a feint blue sheen and a tan/beige color, but more orange in the center. , the dorsal fin is outined orange, about 40% of its body is covered in black blotches, and about 5 orange eggspots on the anal fin. The peacock is still very small, 3 inches or so..seems more colorful than any female ive seen at that size but Im starting to think he is actually a she..is there really any other explanation, I mean I havent ever heard of a male brooding the eggs.

also there are other males in the tank..they pick on him but not too much..just as much as each other.

 

[Kcameron]

pics would be helpful for everyone if possible. I've heard of male cichlids picking up the eggs too, especially if for some reasonn the female is stripped and seperated

 

[mike dunagan]

females show more color because they are not a true peacock. Males should be showing a lot more color. It is most likely a great looking female.

 

[1_2manyrosies]

post some pics

 

[petrisaurus]

pics would be helpful for everyone if possible. I've heard of male cichlids picking up the eggs too, especially if for some reasonn the female is stripped and seperated

this could be possible, the tank was constantly disturbed as fish were captured and bought, the rockwork was always being rearranged. If this is so, the female could of been purchased or very stressed out.

 

[petrisaurus]

i couldnt get any good pictures, but he/she looks very close to this one.

 

[petrisaurus]

probably only 2.5 inches