Could be male or female at that point. Not all males sport that big hump when young. I had a male not display a bump until 8 months later and then it got a gigantic bump within 1 month out of nowhere. Spangling, otherwise called Pearling, is decent. May grow in more or fade. Typically when working with lower grade flowerhorns, you don't see true potential until later. Allow yours to grow out to see its true potential. I call any LFS flowerhorn a gamble, unless it specifically came from a breeder farm in one of the more reputable places.
I see this way too often....don't buy a fish blindly and expect potential...rather, pick the fish that picks you or that you like and will enjoy regardless of their "Quality" and let it grow and be happy. Too many people pick up flower horns and are disappointed by the end result. I want to find another original old ****ty looking green with 3 dot trimac flowerhorn before the flowerhorn fad exploded, which I doubt I'll ever see.
