New 2" Salvini. Pic w/ Questions

[Matikia1600]

Alright, I was finally fortunate enough to find my first Salvini today! I have a few questions that I would love to ask from you experienced Salvini owners.

1. Can you sex it? My guess is that it's female (black blotch on dorsal fin), but I know it is difficult to tell at this size. I will try to get more pics up as it settles in.
2. How big do these guys get (m & f)? I've read everything from 6"-9". My guess is that someone on this site can provide more accurate info.
3. What type of growth rate can I expect from a Salvini?

Here it is @ roughly 2"

 

[cichlidfish]

I'd say female too. She has amazing colors for only being 2".

 

[woofy]

Looks female. the cheek spot will be your difinitve answer when shes a bit bigger. nice colors so far. ive seen them reach anywhere between those sizes u mentioned. 9" being the largest ive personally seen. as for growth rate couuldnt honestly answer. raising one myself.

 

[Dart7383]

I recently picked up a female about this size. I got her at Christmas and she has grown about 3/4" in length, but has filled out and colored up in that time as well. I also have a male that I bought in July. When I got him he was about 5" and he is probably a little over six now. I would also guess female based on the dorsal spot and the amount of red on the belly. Looks like she could be a real stunner when bigger.

 

[BC in SK]

You are correct, your salvini is female. Dorsal spot is a more reliable indicator of sex, then gill spot... though it is true that it is more common for female salvini to pocess a gill spot then a male.

Males can get 8" and deep bodied, with a size of 7-8" quite typical after about 2 -3 years of age. Some claim that males can get 9" or even 10". Maybe (?) though I have never seen the evidence. No picture with a tape measure as far as I know, yet exists, showing they can attain such a large size.

I had one female get just over 7" and very thick bodied after 6 years from purchase. I think a fairly typical size for a female after about 1-2 years from purchase would still be in the 5 -6 1/2" range.