yellow lab sexing

[Scotty]

what's the best way to go about venting? Should I just net it, n check it out or what? do I need a magnifying glass? or is it pretty noticable Oo female, oo male right? I've netted and grabbed a hold of larger cichlids like jags, n oscars, but they are big n meaty, I dont want to hurt it, I mean this lab is only like 4", ya know? I just dont want it to get crushed or injured, thats all.

Net the fish and take it out and into some good lighting. If a female you will see the larger hole quite clearly. If a fish is too small it is about impossible to vent, but at 4inches you should be able to see. The males will also start to get a darker shade of colouring on their face. It is a brownish colouring. The males do tend to have a lot more black on all their fins than the females. I have four, 2+2, and this is most definitely the case. Have bred over 150 of them and all the males will show clearly especially if there are females around.