question about texas cichlid pair

[Apollyeon]

so i thought i had a pair of texas cichlids female goes into her breeding colors shes always following the male around kinda nagging him,flaring at him then they do this thing where they circle each other for a while before he chases her off.other than this shes always right next to him or close by but cant tell if hes annoyed with her or what,every now and then he'll look at her and just chase her away.she has laid eggs before but no fry from it,not sure why even though they both seemed like they were fanning them quite a bit.is this a pair that i have? or is it just her hoping that he'll pair with her..never seen the female fish being the one trying to get things going but thats what seems to be happening

 

[duanes]

Just because you have a male and female, doesn't mean they are ready, mature enough, or compatible enough tp spawn.
Most cichlids go thru complicated rituals that determine if one is suitable for the other, or that timing is right.
This is why it is often suggested to acquire a half dozen individuals and allow them to select mates naturally as opposed to just getting a male and female.
And are you sure they are male and female.
Here is a female H carpintus

now a mature male.

Most Herichthys sport similar gender characteristics.
Below a pair of H tamasopoensis

 

[Apollyeon]

Just because you have a male and female, doesn't mean they are ready, mature enough, or compatible enough tp spawn.
Most cichlids go thru complicated rituals that determine if one is suitable for the other, or that timing is right.
This is why it is often suggested to acquire a half dozen individuals and allow them to select mates naturally as opposed to just getting a male and female.
And are you sure they are male and female.
Here is a female H carpintus

now a mature male.

Most Herichthys sport similar gender characteristics.
Below a pair of H tamasopoensis

one has the dorsal spot which im assuming is female and the other has slight bump on forehead and lacks the spot which im assuming is male,,,the female is also more aggressive which fits right with what ive read about them..these arent caprintas but cyanoguttatus
the female is quite a bit smaller than the male,,shes about 4 inches and male is prolly pushing 8.I've never seen 2 fish hang out together like these 2 do and not be something happening.what ive noticed is she gets really aggressive with anything else as long as hes in the same tank but isnt that way if i remove him.ive possibly got their sexes mixed up maybe but i thought the female always has the dorsal spot? can the male possibly have it and female not? if this is the case i can see why they wont pair cause hes too small for her

 

[duanes]

The one with the spot sounds like the female to me, cyanoguttatus or carpintus they are so closely related any gender differences would be minimal.
Males usually only get spots when rearing fry, as in the photo below, she's in front.

 

[Apollyeon]

The one with the spot sounds like the female to me, cyanoguttatus or carpintus they are so closely related any gender differences would be minimal.
Males usually only get spots when rearing fry, as in the photo below, she's in front.

yep,looked over and shes like 2 inches from him right next to him and chasing all other fish away.he kinda acts like she isnt there or is a minor annoyance and chases her away sometimes

 

[Rass]

Give them time. They will get it. Same thing happened with my dovii. The female is a fraction of the size, and she laid eggs twice before they got fertilized by the male. Now if anything, she bosses him around, and they live together nicely. At this point I can't stop them from producing fry every other month. I'm up to my eyeballs in dovii now. Come to think of it, not trying to derail the thread here, but if anybody near northern California wants any let me know I currently have three generations of babies going. Newborn fry, a group that's .75-1.25", and a group that ranges from 2-3.5".