Sexing senegal bichirs

[Moloch]

I know its done by looking at the anal fin, males are cupped...correct?

How old/long/large will they need to be before I can tell though?

I want to name them but I'm having a hard time coming up with anything and knowing the gender might help

 

[pat3612]

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/predatory/breedingbichir.php This might help you.

 

[Moloch]

Thanks. Now its just a matter of figuring out when they're "mature"

My first senegal (bought a few weeks before the second) is a good inch longer than the other and just LOOKS older/more mature. But they both still have gills (only really show up when eating food large to puff their head out a bit) so they must be relatively young.

Feeding the new guy is proving a bit difficult though...they're both in my 20gal with a young Jack Dempsey and they all eat the same hikkari sinking carnivore pellets. I actually saw the younger sen going for a pellet for a few seconds and the larger came and chased him off...I don't even think he ate the pellet afterwards. I'm not too worried about it though, he seems to be eating about as much as the first one did in the first week or so. And this second one actually went after some top-floating bloodworm where-as the first never paid them any attention.

Do you think I could get the dempsey to go after floating cichlid pellets while the others sink for the bichirs?