Did the best I could to vent it, but was somewhat inconclusive. He/she is around 5-5.5" and very colorful. I've never owned any of the Vieja species before, so any thoughts on its gender would be greatly appreciated. Here are two pics I took below.
Synspilum Gender?
- Thread starter Manu8__too
- Start date
My guess would be Male due to the steeper head profile.I had a M similar looking to yours 2 yrs ago.
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Thank you for your opinion. When I vented the fish I seemed to think male as well. We'll see what happens as it puts some size on.
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Syns are tough fish to sex by appearance. Even adult fish are tough as females can get nuchal humps too.
My guess is male - going by the overall steeper head and elongated body. IME females are more round and have a shorter body. The only thing that makes me question this is the tip of the dorsal. Male fish tend to have a more pronounced point at the end of the dorsal & this looks rounded.
My guess is male - going by the overall steeper head and elongated body. IME females are more round and have a shorter body. The only thing that makes me question this is the tip of the dorsal. Male fish tend to have a more pronounced point at the end of the dorsal & this looks rounded.
x2
that is true ime. And maybe he hasnt reached the part where he grows fin tip point yet.. Or maybe he does have that but fins being nipped time to time never gave it a full perfect tip.
I bought a syn thinking it was a female. Then thought it was a male, then thoght it was female. Then traded it off as a female, then it went and spawned with the new owners female Syn. He was 8-9" already. Viejas are hard to sex.
Thanks again everyone! Male or female, I'm excited to see the colors on this thing in 6-8 months!
CichlidScene Issue 6 has a great article on melanuras/synspillum.
http://centralscenemagazine.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-central-scene-issue-6.html
It is interesting to read that sexually active males have blue eyes, and females have yellow eyes.
The nice thing about synspillum is that it doesn't matter whether you have male or female, they are equally colorful and develop showy hump over time.
I keep a number of Viejas species and like them all for their color and mild temperament. The only regret I have with Vieja species is that they can be shy and skitish, and never seem to grow out of it. Some of my big Viejas still go panic if I don't approach the tank slowly.
http://centralscenemagazine.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-central-scene-issue-6.html
It is interesting to read that sexually active males have blue eyes, and females have yellow eyes.
The nice thing about synspillum is that it doesn't matter whether you have male or female, they are equally colorful and develop showy hump over time.
I keep a number of Viejas species and like them all for their color and mild temperament. The only regret I have with Vieja species is that they can be shy and skitish, and never seem to grow out of it. Some of my big Viejas still go panic if I don't approach the tank slowly.