A Petco close to me has some Venustus about 2in and i would like to get one for my 75 but i was wondering how you tell the difference between a male and a female at that age? Is there anything specific or is it more just like a hit or miss? my buddy, CDF, has a male about 7in and he is awesome looking. thanks for the help guys.
question about venustus?
- Thread starter OscarHook
- Start date
not so sure about venustus at 2 inches, but most cichlids get their color early. i would guess the bluest ones were males and females would be the browner ones. try getting them by that method.
Males have a blue face when matured and females are all brown.
Males have a blue face when matured and females are all brown.
With at least one of them being male, it might be a little risky keeping two in a 75-gal in the long run.
Don't know if this is a sure proof indicator or not but the females I have had more yellow coloration around the throat and gill plates than the males (this is when they all were juveniles). My juvie males lacked that yellow, and what yellow that they did have was duller than the females'. They were about 2.5"-3".
Not great juvie pics but:
This one turned out to be female. Notice the yellow coloration the head area of this juvie. T
Juvie males. Note at this size they lack the yellow which the females have and lack the blue heads which mature males have:
The juvie on the left in the above pic is this fish below:
Don't know if this is a sure proof indicator or not but the females I have had more yellow coloration around the throat and gill plates than the males (this is when they all were juveniles). My juvie males lacked that yellow, and what yellow that they did have was duller than the females'. They were about 2.5"-3".
Not great juvie pics but:
This one turned out to be female. Notice the yellow coloration the head area of this juvie. T
Juvie males. Note at this size they lack the yellow which the females have and lack the blue heads which mature males have:
The juvie on the left in the above pic is this fish below:
2" extremely hard.. Buy a couple and when one shows the blue hue 
then take the rest back to an lfs for credit
then take the rest back to an lfs for credit