[shewolfgeo]

I just want to make sure that I have 2 male Hypsophrys nicaraguensis cichlid. Or am I wrong and it's 2 females. The smaller of the two was in a different tank, I was growing it up since it was a fry when I got it. The larger one has made a hole in the sand bed. This was before I moved the smaller one over. I was hoping I had a possible pair but I think they are the same sex.. What do you guys think?

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here are pictures

 

[Plant keeper]

Hard to say..
here a pic of a pair..

 

[reignOfFred]

How big are they? These fish tend to develop a bigger difference as they grow and mature- males get much larger, reaching 8 to 10 inches long and develop a small hump on the head, and are much more subtle in colour and markings with slightly more elaborate finnage and a more pointed dorsal, while the female only grows to 6 inches and has more vivid and metallic-like markings and lesser fin age.

Those picks are tough to read since the fish are not fully colored, or not displaying color well, but it looks like it is possible the top one is female.

 

[shewolfgeo]

The biggest one is prob. about 5 inches maybe 6. The other is about 4 inches. The bigger one will chase the smaller one. But I know that doesn't mean much.. I'll see about getting better pics.

 

[shewolfgeo]

not much better pic, but this is the bigger one, and the one I think is a male.

 

[reignOfFred]

See how the dorsal of that last pick is pointed with a longer tip - male is most likely. Also in my experience with these guys males can be aggressive to the female sometimes, even if they are a mated pair. My pair was in a 110 gallon and eventually downgraded to a 75 and I would not keep them in any smaller then that one.

 

[shewolfgeo]

here is photo of the other one, again not a good pic. He/she hides near the heater most of the day. The only time she/he isn't at the heater is during eating, and in the morning when I turn the lights on, he/she is normally in the hole the bigger one made..

I have a local person interested in this one if its a male. So trying to find out for sure.

 

[HypnoticAquatic]

the pointed dorsal fin and anal fin isnt really a acurate way to tell with these guys belive me my female has streamers that are a good 1/2 -1 inch, the best way i could tell at a young juvi stage is the female will always carry the latteral stripe as the male will just retain the dot normally also the male will have a red/black fade/checkerd pattern on his dorsal fin like the first one of your photos the other one look like a fem but its hard to tell right now. '

are u looking for a breeding pair? if so you need more than a male/female to have any decent results imo, if your trying for that you really need a good selection say 2 males the best show ones u can find and 4-5 fems doing this u get the best male female of the group and they also pick who they want its not always up to us! like we want. what size tank do u have them in btw? these guys do get 7-8inch + and can and will live 10 years+ givin proper care. i love these guys my male has such a blue face expecially when breeding if u got any ?'s ask

 

[shewolfgeo]

I was hoping for a breeding pair, I only got 2 from aquabid seller. In the auction I got 3 species, 2 each. They are in a 75g at the moment. I have a 90g that I have to repair, I'm hoping that I'll have it repaired soon and move them into it.

But if that both are males, I'll sale one. The other I may use as the center piece for my "in home" tank. We are working on a fish room/breeding room for me, so my main home tank will be my show tank for customers.

 

[Elrodg]

Ok I actually have the copora Nicaraguensis. But it can't be too different. The female is always bigger then the males. Here is a pic of my juvies

Bad pic also. Bit the female is taller than the male by almost a qtr inch. The females turn a darker color than the males who get to be more yellowish gold.

 

[Elrodg]

And I'm sorry to tell you that those are both males.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.615635,-88.302867

 

[Elrodg]

I dunno the second pic at the top kinda looks like a female but it seems like it's too young to really tell a diff


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.615608,-88.302907

 

[Elrodg]

Well the digging represents a maturing fish tho so they can't be too young. And digging is a good sign. You may have 1f &3m.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.615608,-88.302907

 

[shewolfgeo]

I just have 2 of them. the first 2 pics are of the same fish and the last 2 are of the same one.

The big one done the digging, before I added the other into the tank with him. But I think they are both males.

 

[HypnoticAquatic]

i will say this again if your going for a pair u need to start with several and after they pair sell off the rest one male and female doesnt mean they will pair up they choose. and when they do breed you better have a grow out tank or that 75 to themselves and they will still outgrow that fast! 200+fry adds a lot more bio load than u think. so keep those fish and add at least 3 females and you should be set for them to pair up in a few months at the earliest

 

[shewolfgeo]

The auction was for only 2 of that species, and I have been looking to get more so that can choose their mate. But trying to find more females is hard at the moment, but I'm keeping my eye open for them. I may just sale the other male and as I said just have the bigger one for my show tank for ppl to look at when they come to my fish/breeding room, if I can't find any females.

I may have to order a group of juvies and grow them out and see what I get too.

 

[shrimpNewbie]

I would take this to monsterfishkeepers forum, they will know a bit more on the subject

 

[shewolfgeo]

hmm, good idea, I completely forgot about that forum.