My GT Is a Bully Magnet.. When Will It Stick Up For Itself?

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even at a small size females will have black blotches about an eyes size below their eye. males will lack this
 
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Here's a bad picture of it, it's kinda hard to tell if there's a mark or not. this picture is kinda old, and right now my tank is being treated for an ich outbreak my severum brought with it from the LFS, so the water is kinda gross looking and I hate taking pictures when the tank water and fish aren't looking too great.
 
I don't know its not close enough to tell, looks like it could be male, heres a picture of my female
its a crappy and old picture but you can clearly see the dark blotches
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I can faintly see a little shaded patch where the black splotches are on the picture you provided, but it's not nearly as dark and distinct, but at the same time, he's not as young as the one you provided I'm assuming (looking at the size of the eye in comparison to the rest of the body) Is there a certain age where that spot disappears, or is it permanent?

I'll try to get a closer shot of mine, but keep in mind my tank water is kinda brown stained with meds. The green terror isn't sick though. He never gets sick
 
Looks like a male IMO

+1

The males develop the black blotch under the eye also. IMO the best way to tell is the body shape. Males are longer and less plump, which yours looks to be, they also have longer faces from my experience - i think this is to allow the growth of a nuchal hump. The orange is also fairly prominant in your so i would lean towards male. A few clearer side on pics would be needed to give a definate sex.

But for now i say Male.

Edit: the spot will fade and dissappear in most (not all) males, only appearing when stressed or breeding. In females it is more promenant, however, it usually fades but is still visable as the fish matures. Then becomes dark when in breeding dress.
 
The orange color in the picture provided was him at his worse, it's gotten twice as brilliant since then. When I first got my GT it was all shredded from being in a tank full of 5"+ oscars at the LFS, he was still recovering at the time. His face is also fairly elongated, like you said. I'll try to get some good pictures asap, he likes to move around a lot though, so it's hard to get pictures on a cellphone with this guy.
 
I think its an individual fish thing and size thing. my now 6-7" green terror was the biggest pansy since he was 2" growing up with everyone. always behind the filter only stayed to the back ate super fast and ran away. it was till he hit the 4-5" mark that he finally just hangs out like normal with everyone else and will actually turn on certain fish that mess with him. then again i recently added a 2 incher with the group and hes holding his own swimming around like he owns the place. flares against my 5" midas and wins. they are both males. moral of the story. give him some time he will get some guts with age.
 
Here's a picture that I took tonight, I can't get much better than this, he likes to move around a lot, and seems to be terrified of my cellphone when I try to get pictures

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would this be any better to decipher gender?
 
looks like my males.
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