Can't wait for some growth sperts for my guyThe structure and overall look of your male reminds me of mine..as in some males are more torpedo shape whereas others have a nice (imo)high angle head like yours and mine....here are pics of my male a few months ago and now for you to compare....
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For the female yes it slows there growth. They put more energy into developing eggs than growing. This is there very first spawn. If they hatch or not I will be separating the pair and let her to continue to grow. This was a total surprise spawning.Very nice fish my mans, I've heard that too much spawning can slow down the growth of younger cichlids have you heard anything like that?
It took my friend John a couple months after asking him to get them for me. He owns a mom and pops fish store but who knows the suppliers importers. It takes time but he gets them. He says most wanted fish go to Asia because the pay more and breed them to supply us here. Especially Japan
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At that size your right they look very similar. Unfortunately I can't take a picture of my male right now. I just moved them into my homemade custom tank that's way to big to get a clear picture of him. If he happens to be at the front I will. He'll be in that tank till summer comes around agin.Mine looks exactly like your male its freaky! His color is usually more intense but i took a quick picture, and he is still really shy.The finnage and everything looks VERY similar .What does he look like right now? I feel mine will take very similarly after yours!
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