the coloration makes me think it’s a male but lack of nuchal hump at 6 inches or a steep head shape is making me think otherwise. Thoughts anyone?
Synspilum- male or female?
- Thread starter Jonnycichlid6
- Start date
Not sure about yours but my male is about 6" steeper head profile and he has blue eyes (never seen a female with blue eyes)
It's hard to tell since the blue sometimes disappears in pictures but they do look gold to me. Yours is actually more colorful then mine.
Yea it’s a very colorful fish and I figured it is likely male but who knows. Thanks for your input
In this species general coloration has nothing to do with being male or female, the profile is a better way. Females being a bit more torpedo shaped, male a steeper profile, and will develop pointed fin trailers.
compare the profile above of a female Vieja breidhori (a very close cousin) to the male below
the difference is quite dramatic.
That said... if there are more dominant cichlids in your tank, a male profile can fail to develop, as an instinctual way to protect itself for the alpha in the tank.
I see the BP doing a bit of bluster in the one photo, which may be a contributing factor.
compare the profile above of a female Vieja breidhori (a very close cousin) to the male below
the difference is quite dramatic.
That said... if there are more dominant cichlids in your tank, a male profile can fail to develop, as an instinctual way to protect itself for the alpha in the tank.
I see the BP doing a bit of bluster in the one photo, which may be a contributing factor.
Thanks for your reply. It’s Interesting, my BP does like to be very territorial and for some reason no one likes to fight back with it even though the fish are larger than it, including my synspilum and GT. I’ve always wondered if the fish can tell BPs are deformed and “go easy on them.” Here’s another pic of the synspilum. Def has a more torpedo shaped head .In this species general coloration has nothing to do with being male or female, the profile is a better way. Females being a bit more torpedo shaped, male a steeper profile, and will develop pointed fin trailers.
compare the profile above of a female Vieja breidhori (a very close cousin) to the male below
the difference is quite dramatic.
That said... if there are more dominant cichlids in your tank, a male profile can fail to develop, as an instinctual way to protect itself for the alpha in the tank.
I see the BP doing a bit of bluster in the one photo, which may be a contributing factor.
