Texas breeding tubes

[jaguartooth]

I have had an oscar (10in), saum (6in), and a texas (5in), along with a few small convicts for a year now. I just added a female jack dempsey (6in) into the mix, and the saum and texas have both dropped their breeding tubes. From my experience breeding angel fish, I'm assuming that a sharp tube means male, and a more blunt tube means female.

The saum has a "pointy tube" and the texas has a wider blunt breeding tube, but the texas and the new jack dempsey (i'm sure she's a female) seem to be taking a liking to one another. FYI, the tex and the saum have never got along and each have staked claim to opposite sides of a 125gal tank.

Anyone have any pics of texas cichlids with their breeding tubes exposed in all its glory?

It may just be a case of two female cichlids cohabitating, which would be great, because if they do breed I'm gonna have to get another tank or give some fish away.

Please share some similar experiences.

 

[mbunafishkeeper]

you can tell the sex of ure JD easy enough, if the gill plate is speckled with lots of blue around it "blue beard" then its a female. if the gill plate hasnt got any speckling or a "blue beard" then its a male. if the GS and TX both have tubes down they could cross breed.

 

[xEchOx]

I've had a tex for a while and though I have had successful spawns from him, I've never shot a pic of it. Females though, often display a black spot in the dorsal fin. Pics of yours may help us sex them too.